-^  / 


•:i!0^ 


PEINCETON,  N.  J. 


'a. 


Presented  by  Mr.  Samuel  Agnew  of  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


-L^ 


AgJiezv  Coll.  on  Baptism,  No.     '    -^  «<-^  f(J 

\/T\^Z__ 


THE  HISTORY 


FREEWILL  BAPTISTS 


Jf0r  lialf  K  €mkx% 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER, 


By  rev,  I.  D.^'^TEWAET. 


VOLUME  I. 
FBOM   THE   YEAH   1780    TO    1830. 


DOVER  r 

FREEWILL  BAPTIST  PRINTING  ESTABLISHMENT. 

WILLIAM   BUER,    PRINTER. 

1862, 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1861,  by 

"THE  FREEWILL  BAPTIST  PRINTING  ESTAILISHMENT," 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  N'ew  Hampshire. 


fe 


PREFACE. 


History  is  replete  with  instruction,  and  suggestive 
of  duty.  It  takes  the  experience  of  others  and  offers 
it  to  ourselves,  admonishing  us  to  shun  their  faults 
and  copy  their  virtues.  It  may  be  said  to  extend  our 
days,  as  well  as  our  experience,  by  carrying  us  back 
into  the  past,  where  we  seem  to  live  with  the  men  of 
other  years,  to  participate  in  their  labors,  sympathize 
with  their  feelings,  and  share  in  their  weal  or  woe. 
No  person  can  read  a  faithful  history  without  advan- 
tage, if  he  desire  it. 

A  history  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  has  long  been  in 
contemplation.  .Rev.  John  Buzzell  published  a  brief 
account  of  their  rise  and  progress  for  thirty  years,  in 
his  Religious  Magazine  in  1811  and  1812.  In  1828, 
at  the  request  of  two  Yearly  Meetings,  the  General 
Conference  made  arrangements  for  a  history  of  the 
denomination,  and  appointed  an  editor  ;  but  nothing 
more  was  done.  In  1839,  Rev.  Hosea  Quinby  com- 
menced a  series  of  historical  articles  in  the  Quarterly 
Magazine,  but  that  work  was  soon  suspended.  In 
1853,  the  Printing  Establishment  appointed  a  commit- 
tee to  collect  materials  for  a  history,  and  after  five 
years'  effort,  the  collection,  consisting  of  books,  rec- 
ords, papers,  and  reports  from  ministers,  churches. 
Quarterly  and   Yearly  Meetings,  was  placed  in  the 


IV  PREFACE. 

hands  of  Rev.  I.  D.  Stewart,  to  prepare  the  work 
for  publication. 

To  sit  in  calm  judgment  on  the  acts  of  such  godly- 
men  as  were  the  fathers  of  the  denomination — to  dis- 
card prejudice,  and  do  justice  in  all  cases,  is  no  easy 
task.  Macaulay  says,  "  No  history  can  present  us 
with  the  whole  truth,  but  those  are  the  best  histories 
which  exhibit  such  parts  of  the  truth  as  most  nearly 
produce  the  effect  of  the  whole.  He  who  is  deficient 
in  the  art  of  selection,  may,  by  showing  nothing  but 
the  truth,  produce  all  the  effects  of  the  grossest  false- 
hoods. History  has  its  foreground  and  its  back- 
ground ;  and  it  is  principally  in  the  management  of 
its  perspective  that  one  artist  differs  from  another. 
Some  events  must  be  represented  on  a  large  scale, 
others  diminished,  and  a  great  majority  will  be  lost 
in  the  dimness  of  the  horizon."  The  wiiter  endeav- 
ored to  keep  these  suggestions  of  the  eminent  historian 
in  mind,  and  profit  by  them.  His  first  and  great 
desire  has  been,  to  be  faithful  to  truth.  Facts  have 
not  been  withheld  because  they  involved  acts,  or  prin- 
ciples of  action,  now  disapproved.  Neither  have  acts 
or  declarations  been  stated  and  there  left,  without 
allusion  to  the  modifying  circumstances  that  attended 
them.  The  object  has  been  to  present  those  men  and 
their  work,  not  as  they  would  appear  in  our  day,  but 
as  they  truly  were  in  their  own  day.  The  author  has 
endeavored  to  trace  actions  back  to  motives,  and  re- 
sults to  causes.  Especially  has  he  studied  to  under- 
stand and  reveal  the  inner  life,  that  directed  and  char- 
acterized the  outward  act.  It  is  interesting  to  know 
the  facts  pertaining  to  the  outward  life  of  the  fathers  ; 
the  time,  place,  form,  and  manner  of  their  worship, 
and  the  rise,  progress,  and  decline  of  the  cause.     But 


PREFACE.  V 

he  wlio  would  see  the  power  and  glory  of  their  day- 
repeated  in  ours,  will  be  far  more  interested  in  hav- 
ing opened  to  his  understanding  their  inward  life — 
the  secret  of  their  power  and  success  ;  in  short,  how 
such  men  accomplished  such  results.  The  difficulty 
of  wisely  discerning  and  clearly  unfolding  the  spirit- 
ual life  of  a  people,  can  be  realized  only  by  those  who 
have  set  themselves  down  to  the  task.  It  is  hoped, 
however,  that  the  reader  will  here  find  the  clue  to 
their  esoteric  as  well  as  exoteric  life. 

The  arrangement  of  a  suitable  plan  was  a  difficulty 
not  easily  surmounted.  No  other  history  presented 
one  that  seemed  adapted  to  the  work  in  contemplation ; 
and  the  one  finally  adopted  is  thought  to  combine  the 
greatest  number  of  advantages,  with  the  fewest  disad- 
vantages. It  is  original  in  several  respects,  and  the 
three  divisions  of  the  subject-matter  into  introduction, 
local  incidents,  and  general  developments,  character- 
ize the  several  Introductory,  State,  and  Decade  chap- 
ters. 

After  the, most  unwearied  effiDrts  to  present  the 
public  with  a  history  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  that 
shall  be,  so  far  as  this  volume  goes,  complete,  truth- 
ful, and  satisfactory,  the  author  is  keenly  sensible 
that  errors  may  be  found  on  its  pages.  Nothing  less 
could  be  expected,  in  view  of  the  many  merely  allu- 
sive and  fi-agmentary  statements  that  have  been  fur- 
nished him ;  and  a  still  more  unfortunate  fact,  that 
not  a  few  of  them,  coming  from  different  individuals, 
are  even  contradictory.  And  many  who  have  anx- 
iously waited  for  the  book,  will  doubtless  lay  it  aside 
after  a  hasty  perusal,  dissatisfied  with  the  omission  of 
personal  incidents  of  great  interest  to  them,  or  with 

the  brief  manner  in  which  they  have  been  stated. 
1* 


VI  PREFACE, 


The*only  apology  to  sucli  friends  is,  all  things  consid- 
ered, tlie  authtor  has  done  the  best  he  could. 

Personal  interviews  and  continued  correspondence 
^  have  been  held  with  clergymen  in  various  parts  of 
the  connection,  and  many  have  been  the  facts  and 
suggestions  thus  obtained.  Great  is  the  obligation 
due  these  men,  especially  to  Rev.  Silas  Curtis,  chair- 
man of  the  Committee  for  gathering  the  materials 
here  embodied.  The  following  works  have  been 
freely  considted,  and  have  been  the  principal  sources 
of  information :  The  Religious  Magazine,  Religious 
Informer,  Freewill  Baptist  Magazine,  Quarterly  Mag- 
azine, and  Register ;  The  Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty, 
Morning  Star,  and  Repository ;  The  Lives  of  Randall, 
Stinchfield,  Colby,  Thornton,  Marks,  Bowles,  Phin- 
ney,  and  Elias  Smith  ;  The  Records  of  Yearly  Meet- 
ings, Quarterly  Meetings,  and  churches ;  and  the 
reports  from  23  Yearly  Meetings,  104  Quarterly 
Meetings,  650  churches,  and  700  ministers. 

New  Hampton,  N.  H.,  1861, 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTR  ODUCTI ON. 
SECTION  I. 

THE    KEQUIB.ED    MISSION    OP     THE 
FREEWILL   BAPTISTS. 

Page 
Remarks 13 

New  England  Intolerance 14 

The  Ministry  Unsanctified 16 

Religious  Coercion 18 

Doctrines  Ultra -Calvinistic 21 

State  of  Religion  Deplorable. . .   23 
A  Change  Demanded 25 

SECTION  11. 

THE  APOSTOLIC  TYPE  OF  THE  FEEE- 
AVILL   BAPTIST   MISSION. 

The  Bible— God— Christ- Atone- 
ment— Spirit's  Aid — Freewill.  27 
Perseverance — Ministry-Church 

Worship 28 

Baptism — Communion 29 

Traces  of  the  Baptists 29 

General  Redemption 30 

SECTION  III. 

RANDALL   AND   HIS   FIRST   CO- 
LABORERS. 

Randall's  Childhood •.  32 

Conversion 34 

A  Congregationalist 37 

A  Baptist 40 

Duty  to  Preach 40 

Persecution 42 

Settles  at  New  Durham 43 

Disowned  by  the  Calvinists... .  45 

Ordination 46 

Descriptive  Remarks 46 

Lord 47 

Lock 48 

Shepherd 49 

Tingley 50 


Weeks 51 

Hibbard 52 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  FIRST   CHURCHES. 

New  Durham  Church 53 

Randall's  Enlightenment 55 

Church  at  Hollis 57 

Church  at  Acton 58 

Church  at  Tam worth 59 

Church  at  North  Strafford 59 

Randall's  Journey  to  Maine. .  •  •  60 

Churches  in  Maine 63 

The  Shakers 65 

Trials  in  New  Durham 70 

Weeks  in  Parsonsfield 70 

Randall  in  Maine 71 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE    QUARTERLY  MEETING. 

Preliminary  Measures 74 

Convention 75 

Organization 75 

Second  Session 77 

Circular  Letter 78 

Third  Session 80 

Allen's  "  Two  Mites" 81 

Business  of  Q.  M 81 

Trials  in  1785 84 

Whitney's  Ordination 85 

Letter  to  C.  Baptists 87 

Merrill  and  McCorson  Ordained  90 

Q.  M.  at  Parsonsfield 91 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   FIRST  DECADE. 

Object  of  Decade  Chapters....  93 

Review 93 

Statistics 94 

Constitution  of  the  Church....  96 

RulingElders 98 

Discipline 99 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Free  Communion 99 

"Washing  Feet 101 

Church   Stock 103 

Persecutions 105 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE   TEAELT   MEETING. 

Randall's  Affliction 107 

Winslow's  Letter 107 

John  Cotton 108 

Declension 108 

Re-organization   at  New  Dur- 
ham    109 

John  Buzzell 113 

Church  in  Waterborough 114 

New  Durham  Q.  M llo 

Yearly  Meeting llo 

Sessions  of  the  Q.  M 116 

CHAPTER  VI. 

niSTOEY    IN   MAINE. 

Lock  Reclaimed 119 

Sandy  River  Churches 120 

Stinchfield 121 

Trial  in  Gray  and  New  Glouces- 
ter     121 

Ordination  of  Leach 122 

Edgecomb  Q.  M 124 

Farmington  Q.  M 125 

Weeks  Lost 126 

Ordination  of  Tufts 128 

Church  Trials 129 

Gorham  Q.  M 130 

Stinchfield  Humbled 130 

Buzzell  in  Parsonsfield 131 

Revival  in  Parsonsfield,  &c 132 

Parsonsfield  Q.  M 134 

Ordination  of  Stinchfield 134 

Hutchinson  and  Bailey  Ordain- 
ed   135 

Revival  in  New  Gloucester. . . .   136 

Revival  in  Bristol 137 

Ordination  of  Blaisdell  and  Lord  139 
Churches  and  Ordinations ....   140 

CHAPTER  VII. 

NEAV   HAMPSHIRE. 

Ordination  of  Buzzell 141 

Ordination  of  Townsend 143 

Church  in  Wolf  boro' 143 

Shepherd  Restored 144 

Ordination  of  D.  Lord 145 

Gilmanton   Iron  Works 145 

Ordination  of  Knowlton 146 

Canterbury 147 

Ordination  of  Young 148 

GoodQ.  M's 149 

Day  of  Fasting 150 

Yearly  Meeting  in  1798 150 


Page 

Ordination  of  Ballard 154 

August  Q.  M 155 

Ordination  of  Aaron  Buzzell. . .  156 

Yearly   Meeting 158 

Unity  Q.  M 159 

Richard  Martin 160 

Otis,  Boody,  Pottle  and  Jack- 
son    161 

Churches  and  Ordinations....  162 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

TEEMONT. 

Church  in  Straff"ord 163 

Help  from  New  Hampshire. . .  168 

Church  in  Corinth 169 

Ordination  of  Batchelder 169 

Revival  in  Tunbridge 169 

Joseph  Boody 170 

Joseph  Quinby 170 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE   SECOND    DECADE. 

Review 171 

Statistics 172 

Denominational  Name 173 

Call  to  the  Ministry 176 

Education  of  the  Ministry 178 

Counsel  to  the  Ministry 179 

Support  of  the  Ministry 181 

Elders'  Conference...'. 187 

Woman's  Labors 190 

Church  Covenants 192 

Church  Polity 193 

Dismission  of  Members 194 

Support  of  the  Poor 195 

Regulating  Committee 197 

Lawsuits 198 

Military  Parades 199 

Rules  of  Order 200 

The  Press 201 

Devotional  Spirit 201 

CHAPTER  X. 

MAINE. 

Lock's  Secession 205 

Brunswick  and  Standish 206 

Stinchfield's   Labors 207 

Death  of  Hutchinson 208 

Stinchfield's  Illness .  210 

Revival  in  Edgecomb  Q.  M....  211 

Act  of  Incorporation 212 

Ordinations  in  1804 213 

Yearly  Meeting  at  Gorham. . . .  214 

Ordinations  in  1805 215 

Yearly  Meetings  at  Wilton. . . .  216 

Secession  in  Knox 217 

Revival  in  Lincolnville 217 

Revival  in  Georgetown 218 

Revivalin  Saco 219 


CONTENTS, 


rs 


Revival  in  Standish 221 

Revival  in  Woolwich 222 

Revival  in  Raymond 222 

Revival  in  Gray  and  New  Glou- 
cester  222 

Churches 223 

Ordinations  and  Death 224 

CHAPTER  XI. 


NEW   HAMPSHIRE. 


Church  at  New  Hampton. 
Quarterly  Meeting  there . 

Gilford  church 

Meredith 

Unity  Q.  M 

Assessment 

Singing  on  the  Road 

Joseph  Quinby 

Fall  of  Ballard 

Randall's  Sermon 

Madison 

Ordinations 

Randall's  Illness 

Fall  of  Pottle 

Legislative  Recognition.. 

Revivals 

Yearly  Meeting  in  1806.. 

Randall  at  Sutton 

Osgoodites 

Death  of  Knowlton 

Randall's  Last  Labors. . . 

His  Last  Sickness 

His  Last  Letter 

His  Death 

Churches  Organized 

Ordinations 

Deaths 


CHAPTER  XII. 


VERMONT  AND    CANADA. 

Randall  in  Vermont 

Joseph  Boody,  Jr 

The  Praying  Boy 

Joseph  Boody,  Sen 

Wm.  S.  BabcOck 

Stephen  Place 

Aaron  Buzzell 

Strafford  Q.M 

Hardwick  Q.  M 

Hatley  and  Stanstead 

First  Church  in  Canada 

Moulton  Ordained 

Yearly  Meeting 

Trials  in  Hardwick  Q.  M 

Churches  and  Ordinations.... 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   THIRD   DECADE. 

Review 

Statistics 


225 
226 
227 
228 
228 
228 
229 
230 
230 
233 
235 
235 
236 
238 
239 
240 
240 
241 
242 
242 
243 
246 
246 
251 
252 
252 
253 


254 
254 
254 
255 
255 
256 
256 
257 
257 
258 
259 
260 
260 
261 
261 


263 
264 


Page 
Inconveniences  at  Q.  and  Y. 

M's 265 

Reflections 266 

City  Churches 266 

Class  Meetings 267 

Polity  Changed 267 

Churches  Reject  Members... .  268 

Church  Records  in  Q.  M 268 

Buzzell  Secretary  of  Y.  M 269 

Elias  Smith 269 

DisafFections 272 

Angel  Delusion 275 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

MAINE. 

Revivals 277 

Montville  Q.  M 277 

Yearly  Meeting  at  Buxton. . . .  278 

Colby  at  Montville 278 

Leach's  Letter.' 279 

Whitney  at  Newfield 280 

Burbank's  Conversion 280 

Great  Revivals 280 

Daniel  and  Samuel  Hutchinson  280 

Colby  at  Eastport 281 

Clement  Phinney 282 

Prays  for  a  Universalist •  282 

Rand's  Attack 283 

Buzzell's  Reply 283 

McGray  in  Nova  Scotia 284 

Cochranism 285 

Lock's  Letter 289 

Revivals  in  Farmington  Q.  M. .  289 

State  Constitution 290 

Churches  and  Ordinations 290 

Deaths 291 

CHAPTER  XV. 

NEW   HAMPSHIRE. 

Great  Revivals 292 

Yearly  Meeting  at  Sandwich. .  292 

Colby's  Labors I...  293 

Recovery  of  a  Sick  Woman. . .  294 

Joshua  Quinby 295 

Sandwich  Q.M 295 

Weare   Q.M 295 

Charitable  Society 296 

Revival  in  Meredith 297 

Death  of  Shepherd 297 

Death  of  Knowlton  and  Jack- 
son   298 

Joseph  Boody,  Sen 298 

Discouragements  of  1816 299 

Revivals 299 

Ministers  in  the  Legislature.  • .  300 

Toleration  Act 301 

Religious  Informer 301 

Conference  at  Mrs.  Randall's. .  301 
Randall  Estate  Purchased....  302 


CONTENTS. 


Churches  Organized 302 

Ordinations  and  Deaths 302 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

VERMONT. 

John  Colby 303 

His  Journey  to  Ohio 303 

Builds  a  Meeting  House 304 

Yearly  Meeting  at  Tunbridge .  305 

Punds  for  Indigent  Ministers .  305 

Clarissa  H.  Danforth 306 

Daniel  Quimby 307 

Charles  Bowles 307 

Miss  Danforth  in  Wheelock  Q. 

M 310 

Prayer  for  Colby 310 

Reuben  Allen 311 

Huntington  Q.  M 311 

Churches  Organized 312 

Ordinations  and  Deaths 312 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

RHODE   ISLAND. 

Colby's  First  Visit 313 

Church  at  Burrillville 314 

A  Quarterly  Meeting 314 

Other  Ministers 315 

Great  Gale 315 

Governor  Jones 315 

Death  of  Colby 316 

White  Settles  in  Rhode  Island  318 

Clarissa  H.  Danforth 318 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

NEW  YORK. 

Nathaniel  Brown 319 

Church  in  Bethany 319 

Colby's  Tour 320 

Jeremiah  Folsom 220 

Bethany^  Q.  M 320 

Missionary  Tours 321 

Cheney  at  Attica 321 

Herman  Jenkins.... 321 

Church  in  Holland 321 

Hinkley  at  Parma 322 

Lewis  at  Walworth 322 

Dean  at  Benton 323 

Boston  Church 323 

Erie  Q.  M 324 

Benton  Q.  M 324 

David  Marks 324 

Churches  and  Ordinations 325 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Colby's  Tour 326 

Crooker,  Chase,  Gould  and  Wil- 
liams    327 


Page 

Cookstown  Q.  M 328 

Churches  and  Ordinations 328 

CHAPTER  XX. 

OHIO. 

Stedman  at  Rutland 329 

Colby's  Tour 329 

Athens  Q.  M 330 

Dudley,  Moulton  and  Cheney.  331 

Ohio  Yearly  Meeting 332 

Dudley  and  Hinkley 333 

Churches  and  Ordinations 334 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   POtTRTH   DECADE. 

Review 335 

Reflections  on  Colby's  Tour. . .  336 

Clarissa  H.  Danforth 338 

The  Press 339 

Religious  Magazine 339 

Life  of  Colby 339 

Religious  Informer 341 

Proposed    Union    of    Freewill 

Baptists  and  Christians 341 

Ordinations 343 

War  with  England 344 

Moulton  Arrested 344 

Clark  in  the  Camp 345 

Scarcity  of  Provisions 346 

Spotted  Fever 347 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

MAINE,    NEW  BRUNSWICK  AND 
NOVA    SCOTIA. 

Lewis  Joins  the  Christians....  349 

Lock's  Gift  of  a  Farm 349 

Death  of  Tingley 349 

Parsonsfield   and    Gorham    Q. 

M's   United 351 

Free  Mission  Society 351 

Death  of  Blaisdell 352 

Exeter   Q.  M 352 

Elias  Hutchins 353 

Montville  Q.  M 353 

Maine   Charitable  Society 353 

Phinney  at  Richmond 353 

BowdoinQ.M 354 

Burbank  and  Manson 355 

Farwell  and  Lewis 355 

Hamiltonism 355 

Death  of  Bullock  and  Sturgis. .  356 

Morning  Star 356 

McGray  in  Nova  Scotia 356 

Revivals 357 

Two  Yearly  Meetings 357 

Farmington  Q.  M 358 

Free  Mission  Society  in  Edge- 
comb  Q.  M 358 

Enoch  W.  Bradford 358 


CONTENTS. 


Trial  with  McFarland 359 

Death  of  Hibbard 359 

Anson  Q.  M 360 

Norton  and  Higgins 360 

Death  of  Lamb  and  Lock 361 

Hathaway  on  the  Penobscot. . .  361 

Death  of  Bradford 362 

Churches 362 

Ordinations 363 

Deaths 364 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

NEW   HAMPSHIRE. 

Yearly  Meeting  at  Strafford. . .  365 

Sale  of  Liquor 366 

Cheney  Leaves 366 

Death  of  Otis  and  Babcoek.. . .  367 

David  Marks 367 

Eli  Towne 368 

Church  at  Contoocookville... .  368 

Lewis  at  Ellsworth 369 

John  A.  Rollins 369 

Death  of  Martin  and  Quinby. .  370 

Death  of  Mrs.  Randall 370 

White's  Sermon 371 

Dover  Church 371 

Free  Baptist  Churches  in  Vt. . .  371 

Great  Falls  Church 372 

Great  Yearly  Meeting 372 

General   Conference 373 

Chase  Leaves 373 

Clark  at  Dover 374 

Young  and  Harriman 374 

Churches 375 

Ordinations  and  Deaths 375 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

VERMONT  AND    CANADA. 

General  Prosperity 376 

C.  H.  Danforth 377 

Concord  Chiirch 377 

Woodworth's  Letter 377 

Yearly  Meeting 378 

Charitable  Society 378 

Dover  Q.  M 378 

Bowles  at  Enosburg 379 

John  S.  Carter 380 

"Woodman's  Letter 381 

Indian  Stream  Churches 382 

Burbank   and  Manson 383 

Morse  at  Montpelier 384 

Bowles'  Visits 385 

Enosburg  Q.  M 385 

Stanstead  Q.  M 385 

Martha  N.  Spaulding 386 

Society  for  Support  of  the  Min- 
istry    386 

Masonry 386 


Page 

Death  of  Moulton 387 

Death  of  Jackson 387 

Churches 388 

Ordinations  and  Deaths 388 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

RHODE   ISLAND,    MASSACHUSETTS? 
AND    CONNECTICUT. 

Great  Revivals 389 

Greenville  Church 389 

Ray  Potter 390 

Quarterly  Meeting 390 

Eli  Towne... 391 

Marriage  of  Miss  Danforth. . . .  391 

Josiah  Graves 391 

Morse  at  Pautucket 393 

Rehoboth   Church 393 

Susan  Humes 394 

ZalmonTobey 394 

Freewill  Baptist  Magazine. . . .  395 

Death  of  Thornton 395 

Lowell   Church 395 

Allen  Brown 396 

Loring  at  Middleboro' 396 

Itinerancy 396 

Church  in  Middleton 396 

Olneyville  Church 397 

Martin  Cheney 397 

Churches  and  Ordinations 398 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

NEW  TORK    AND    CANADA. 

Owego  Q.  M 399 

Richard  M.  Carey 400' 

David  Marks 402 

Holland  Purchase  Y.  M 404 

Andrew  Banghart 404 

Jenkins  in  Canada 405 

Talcott  Patching 406 

Death  of  Folsom 406 

Darling  and  Lyon 407 

Great  Revivals 408 

Ontario  Q.  M 408 

Carey  at  Little  Valley 409 

Marks  and  Straight  in  Canada  409 

Chenango  Q.  M 410 

Colby's  Life 410 

Trials  in  Bethany  Q.  M 410 

Mission  Society 410 

Susquehannah  ' Y.  M 411 

Marks' Illness 411 

Masonry 412 

Trials  in  Ontario  Q.  M 412 

Carey's  Labors 412 

Jenkins  in  Canada 413 

Proposed  Union  in  Canada... .  414 

Churches 414 

Ordinations  and  Deaths 415' 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

PENNSYLYANIA. 

Page 

Jackson  Churcli 416 

Jenkins'  Letter 416 

Mount  Pleasant  Churcli 417 

Gibson  Q.  M 417 

Troy  and  Cookstown 418 

Northwestern  Pennsylvania. . .  418 

Newbold  in  Bedford  Co 419 

Churches  and  Ordinations 420 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

OHIO   AND   INDIANA. 

Marcus  Kilborn 421 

First  Chiirch  in  Indiana 421 

MaineviUe  Church 422 

CoUins  in  Northern  Ohio 423 

Marks'  Labors 423 

Huron  Q.M 424 

Athens  Q.M 425 

Dudley  in  Marion  Co 426 

Dudley  Visits  Kilborn 427 

Miami  Q.M 427 

Yearly  Meeting 428 

Death  of  Towne 428 

Northeastern  Ohio 429 

Cheney  at  Conneaut 429 

Marks  in  Ohio 429 

Marion  Q.M 430 

Blilborn  Travels 430 

Hutchins'  Labors 431 

United  Baptists 432 

Medina  Q.M 433 

Wayne  Q.M 433 

Churches  and  Ordinations 434 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

GENERAL    CONFERENCE. 

Polity  Developed 435 

Conference  of  Elders 436 

General  Conference  Proposed.  436 


Fage- 

Preliminary  Measures 437 

First  Session 438 

Peep  at  the  Body 438 

Business 440 

Ordination  of  Colored  Men. . . .  440 

Itinerant  Ministry 441 

Doctrines  Published 441 

Second  Session 442 

Delegates 442 

Independent  Methodists 444 

Masonry 444 

History  of  F.  Baptists 445 

Third  Session 445 

Meetings  of  "Worship 446 

Sermon  by  Place 447 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  riETH  DECADE. 

Review 449* 

Statistics 450 

Ruling  Elder 450 

Itinerant  Ministry 451 

Support  of  the  Ministry 452 

Ill-Requited  Ministry 454 

Wives  of  Ministers 458 

The  Press 460 

Hyran  Book. 460 

Register 461 

F.  Baptist  Magazine 461 

Morning  Star 461 

Life  of  Randall 462 

F.  Baptists  in  North  Carolina.  463 
Correspondence  with  the   Gen- 
eral Baptists 463 

Missions 465 

Sabbath  Schools 465 

Temperance 466 

Education 467 

Masonry 469 

Hinderances  to  Success 470 

Secret  of  Success 470 


H  I  S  T  0  11  Y 

OF    THE 

FREEWILL    BAPTISTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTION 


SECTION  I. 

THE  REQUIRED  IMISSIOX  OF  THE  FREEWILL  BAPTISTS. 

Remarks — New  England  Intolerant — The  Ministi-y  Unsanctified — Re- 
ligious Coercion — Doctrines  Ultra-Calvinistic — State  of  Religion  De- 
plorable— A  Change  Demanded. 

The  student  of  history  is  not  satisfied  Avitli  the  mere 
record  of  events.  He  would  know  the  originating  causes 
and  modifying  circumstances  ;  how  the  secret  springs  of 
action  were  touched,  and  the  events  produced.  Authors 
have  not  felt  themselves  at  liberty  to  disregard  this  desire, 
but  in  history,  whether  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  their  first 
effort  is  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  correct  understanding  of 
the  subject  itself. 

So  the  history  of  the  FreeAvill  Baptists  cannot  properly 
begin  with  the  church  at  'New  Durham,  or  the  life  of  Ran- 
dall. The  inquiring  mind  will  ask,  why  was  another  do- 
nomination  sprung  into  existence,  when  the  Christian  world 
was  already  distracted  Avith  opposing  sects  ?  To  answer 
2 


14  REQUIRED    MISSIOJT. 

tliis  question  satisfactorily,  we  must  go  back  to  the  days 
of  our  denominational  fathers,  and  live  with  them  amid 
scenes  of  temporal  want,  spiritual  dearth,  and  fiery  trials, 
"We  must  also  familiarize  ourselves  with  the  spirit  and 
practice  of  existing  churches,  in  order  to  understand  why 
there  could  be  no  more  fraternization  with  them.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  gO'  still  further  back,  and  consider  a  variety 
of  causes  that  had  been  long  operating  upon  the  public  mind^ 
preparing  it  to  demand  a  change  in  the  prevailing  religion  of 
the  day.  Without  more  or  less  knowledge  in  these  respects, 
the  full  mission  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  cannot  be  under- 
stood, or  their  pi'inciples  and  labors  properly  appreciated. 

Could  the  past  controversies  among  Christians  be  for- 
gotten, and  justice  have  her  due,  no  man  of  peace  would 
be  disposed  to  lift  from  such  scenes  the  obscuring  veil 
which  time  is  weaving.  But,  in  a  work  like  this,  justice 
to  the  honored  dead,  and  the  cause  in  Avhich  their  lives 
were  spent,  requires  a  true  statement  of  facts.  In  making 
such  a  statement,  we  utterly  disclaim  any  Avant  of  kind- 
ness, or  Christian  sympathy,  towards  those  denominations 
from  which  our  fathers  felt  themselves  repelled.  And  it 
is  just  to  make  this  admission,  that  if  the  softened  doc- 
trines, tolerant  spirit,  and  approved  piety,  they  manifest 
in  our  day,  had  characterized  them  in  our  fathers'  day, 
the  demand  for  the  Freewill  Baptist  denomination  would 
have  been  far  less  imperative. 

Intolerance.  The  eaidy  settlers  of  New  England  were 
Puritans  of  the  purest  class.  We  may  smile  at  their  aus- 
terity and  grieve  over  their  exclusiveness ;  but,  after  all, 
they  were  "  the  men  for  the  times."  And  had  they  only 
modified  their  institutions  so  as  to  have  met  the  changing 
circumstances  of  the  times  succeeding,  their  praise  avouM 
have  been  more  complete  "  throughout  all  the  church- 
es." But  it  was  their  misfortune  to  live  in  an  age  when 
religious  toleration  was  everyvfhere  denied  ;  when  the 
power  of  truth  to  work  out  her  owq  triumphs  was  every- 
where distrusted.. 


NEW    ENGLAND    INTOLERANCE.  15 

In  exiling  themselves  on  our  uninviting  shores,  they 
never  intended  their  settlement  as  an  asylum  for  all.^ 
They  regarded  it  as  both  their  right  and  duty  to  protect 
themselves  and  children  from  all  error.  But  they  fell 
themselves  into  two  grievous  errors  : — "  The  supposed 
necessity  of  uniformity  in  public  loorsliip — and  The  connec- 
tion of  Church  and  State.'"  The  first  forbade  religious 
toleration,  and  the  second  led  to  the  defence  and  support 
of  religion  by  legal  means.  The  Cambridge  Platform, 
adopted  in  1648,  was  an  ecclesiastical  constitution  ;  and 
for  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years,  magistrates  were 
active  in  executing  its  requirements,^ 

Twenty-five  years  after  its  adoption,  President  Oakes,  of 
Harvard  College,  said,  "  I  look  upon  toleration  as  the 
first-born  of  all  abominations."  ^ 

The  Plymouth  colony  was  less  intolerant  than  the  Mas- 
sachusetts, but  each  regarded  its  members  as  one  family, 
and  the  government  as  a  paternity.  On  this  ground  they 
sought  to  exclude  all  men  of  heretical  doctrine,  and  often 
exercised  undue  authority  upon  dissenters  from  the  general 
faith  and  practice.  Roger  "Williams  was  banished  for  the 
avowal  of  his  religious  convictions.  Dunster,  the  first 
President  of  Harvard  College,  was  indicted,  tried  and 
fined,  for  the  expression  of  Anabaptist  opinions.'*  The 
Quakers  were  used  with  still  more  severity,  because  it 
was  more  daringly  provoked.^  They  would  return  to  the 
colony  after  having  been  banished,  and  a  few  were  pub- 
licly whipped  or  personally  mutilated,  and   four  suffered 

1  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  I.,  p.  463. 

^  This  Platform  was  "  agreed  upon  by  the  Elders  and  Messengers  of 
the  Churches  and  General  Court  in  1648." — Neal's  History  of  N.  E. 
Chap.  XVII.,  contains  eleven  Sections  on  "  The  Power  of  the  Civil 
Magistrate  in  Ecclesiastical  Matters,"  and  says,  '■'Heresy,  vending  corrupt 
and  pernicious  opinions  which  destroy  the  foundation,  open  contempt 
of  the  word  preached,  and  the  like,  are  to  be  restrained  a-VLii  punished  by 
them." 

3  Belknap's  His.  ofN.  H. 

^  Pierce's  His.  of  Harvard  University. 

^  Grahanie's  Colonial  His.  of  the  U.  S, 


16  KEQUIRED    MISSION. 

death  on  the  gallows.*^  Men  who  publicly  called  in  c|iies- 
tion  the  authority  of  magistrates  in  things  of  religion, 
who  opposed  infant  sprinkling,  or  petitioned  for  civil  and 
religious  privileges,  were  either  fined,  imprisoned,  or  ban- 
ished.^ 

These  acts  of  cruelty  were  suppressed  by  an  order  from 
the  crown  in  1661,^  but  the  spirit  of  them  long  survived. 
For  a  century  and  a  half  afterwards,  this  same  desire  for 
rigid  conformity  was  often  manifest.  Ministers,  legally 
settled  in  every  town,  claimed  entire  jurisdiction  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  religion.  All  dissenters  from  the 
''  standing  order"  [Congregationalists]  were  regarded  as 
intruders,  whose  heresy  in  doctrine  and  innovation  in 
practice  must  be  suppressed. 

Religious  intolerance  was  one  of  the  great  evils  of  the 
age,  and  Calvinistic  Baptists  were  doing  a  good  wol-k  tow- 
ards its  correction.  But  men  were  wanted,  Avhose  free 
doctrines  and  liberal  spirit  would  practically  set  the  great 
love  of  God  and  the  free  principles  of  the  gospel  in  vivid 
contrast  Avith  the  narrow  policy  of  sectarian  men.  This 
was  confessed  by  some,  and  even  those  Avho  now  deny 
that  a  mission  of  free  people  was  required  for  the  early 
completion  of  this  work,  will  admit  that  our  present  priv- 
ileges must  be  ascribed,  in  no  small  degree,  to  the  zealous 
efforts  of  Freewill  Baptists. 

Ministry.  The  first  ministers  of  New  England  were 
not  only  pious  men — "  mighty  and  abundant  in  prayer" — 
but  they  were  learned  men,  and  with  them  was  found 
most  of  the  colonial  literature.  A  classical  education  was 
considered  of  such  importance,  that  candidates  for  ordina- 
tion were  examined  in  the  "  three  learned  languages,"  ^  and 

6  Bancroft.  ^  Hildretli's  His.  of  the  U.  S. 

s  Williamson's  His.  of  Maine,  Vol.  II.,  p.  277. 

^  Early  in  the  last  century  a  Convention  of  ministers  assembled  in 
Boston  and  published  proposals  for  the  "Trial"  of  candidates  for  the 
ministry.  One  of  the  rules  was  this  : — "  He  shall  be  tried  how  far  he  is 
acquainted  with  the  three  learned  languages,  [Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew] 
and  with  the  Sciences  commonly  taught  in  the  Academical  Education." 
— Mather's  Ratio  Disciplinw. 


MlHrl^IlY    rNSAN€TIFIED.  17 

some  were  rejected  because  of  their  inability  to  meet  the 
required  test.^''  The  old  records  both  of  churches  and 
towns  abound  in  votes  to  employ  a  "  learned"  minister,-^ 
and  only  such  Avere  considered  as  qualified  to  preach  the 
gospelJ^ 

80  much  reliance  was  placed  upon  education  that  some, 
having  this  qualification,  were  inducted  into  the  sacred 
ofiice,  though  destitute  of  experimental  piety.  A  Congre- 
gationalist  clergyman,  in  speaking  of  one  whose  ministry 
of  fifty  years'  continuance  began  in  1760,  says,  "At  a 
period  when  so  many  in  the  sacred  office  in  New  England 
were  evidently  unconverted,  and  consequently  Arminian, 

Mr.  F steadfastly  adhered  to  the  '  faith  once  delivered 

to  the  saints.'  "  ^^  George  Whitefield,  while  travelling  in 
New  England,  raade  this  record  in  his  journal : — "  The 
reason  why  congregations  have  been  so  dead,  is  because 
they  have  dead  men  preaching  to  them.  *  *  *  It  is 
true,  indeed,  God  may  convert  people  by  the  devil,  if  he 
pleases,  and  so  he  may  by  unconverted  ministers  ;  but  I 
believe  he  seldom  makes  use  of  either  of  them  for  this 
purpose."  On  his  third  visit  to  New  England,  twenty 
clergymen  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  acknowledged  that 
they  were  unconverted  ministers  till  he  came  among 
them.i4 

10  Hildreth,  Vol.  I.,  p.  382. 

'1  New  Hampshire  Churches,  [A  Congregational  work.] 

12  Bjf  a  statute  in  17G0,  an  assessment  for  the  support  of  a  minister 
was  not  legal  "  unless  he  be  educated  at  some  university,  college,  or 
public  academy,  where  the  learned  languages,  the  arts  and  sciences  were 
taught ;  or  had  received  a  degree  from  some  public  seminary ;  or  could 
show  testimonials  from  a  majority  of  the  settled  ministers  in  the  county 
where  he  proposed  to  settle,  that  he  had  sufficient  learning  to  qualify 
him  for  the  work  of  the  ministry." — Williamson's  His.  of  Maine. 

'3  N.  H.  Churches,  p.  232.  The  Centennial  Address  before  the  Men- 
don  Association  of  Congregationalists  in  Mass.,  in  1851,  alludes  to  the 
" half-way  covenant,"  and  says,  "No  prudential  reasons  could  arrest 
the  evils  of  this  radical  innovation  upon  the  constitution  of  our  churches, 
not  the  least  of  which  evils  was  the  introduction  of  unconverted  men  in- 
to the  ministry.     This  teoful  fact  was  even  justified," 

i*  Stevens'  His.  of  Methodism,  Vol.  I.,  p.  478. 

2* 


18  REQUIRED    MISSION. 

The  salary,  learning  and  commanding  influence  of  tlic 
ministry,  induced  many  to  look  in  that  direction  as  the 
surest  road  to  fame  and  affluence.  "  For  many  years 
after  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,"  says  Trumbull, 
"  they  were  consulted  by  the  legislature  in  all  aifairs  of 
importance,  civil  and  religious."  They  were  not  only  pas- 
tors of  the  church,  but  ministers  of  the  town,  legally  set- 
tled and  sustained.  The  consequence  was,  a  strong  ten- 
dency to  conform  to  a  worldly  policy.  To  meet  and  correct 
this  evil,  was  another  part  of  the  Freewill  Baptist  mission  ; 
and  never  did  men  insist  more  determinfedly  on  any  point, 
than  has  the  denomination  on  the  unquestioned  piety  and 
high  spiritual  attainments  of  its  ministry.  Other  qualifi- 
cations might  be  wanting,  but  this,  never. 

Coercion.  The  distinction  between  civil  and  ecclesiastical 
authority  in  New  England,  was  formerly  less  marked  than 
at  the  present  day.  The  principles  of  religion  then  had  a 
controlling  influence  in  all  the  afiairs  of  life,  especially 
those  of  the  government.  The  error  of  the  Puritans  did 
no\f  consist  in  their  carrying  religious  principles  into  polit- 
ical action,  but  in  their  reliance  upon  political  and  civil 
action  for  the  support  of  religion.  Human  nature  is  prone 
to  extremes,  and  never  did  Christian  men  push  their  prin- 
ciples to  greater  extremities  in  this  respect,  than  did  the 
"  Pilgrim  Fathers." 

In  1633  an  ordei^was  passed  that  "  none  but  members 
of  churches  should  be  admitted  as  freemen."  ^^  Thirty 
years  afterwards  this  law  was  so  far  modified  that  all 
freeholders,  twenty-four  years  of  age,  might  have  the  right 
of  suffrage,  though  not  members  of  the  church,  provided 
the  minister  of  their  town  would  certify  that  they  were 
/'  orthodox  in  their  principles,"  and  "  not  vicious  in  their 
lives."  1^  This  law  was  not  without  its  conciliatory  influ- 
ence, but  it  produced  no  substantial  change  in  the  elective 
franchise,  as  none  but  the  well  affected  could  obtain  the 
required  certificate. 

15  Belknap's  His.  of  New  Hampshire.        '^  Hildreth's  His.  of  U.  S. 


RELIGIOUS    COERCIOX.  19 

When  tlic  New  Plampsliire  colonies  united  with  Massa- 
cliusetts  in  1641,  their  freemen  and  dejmties  to  the  General 
Court  were  not  required  to  be  church  members.  This 
step  in  liberality  alarmed  many,  who  denounced  it  as  the 
entering  wedge  of  impiety,  that  would  surely  open  the  way 
to  atheism. 

The  Puritans  justly  regarded  the  preached  gospel  as  a 
public  good,  and  that  every  person  Avas  at  least  indirectly 
benefited  thereby.  But  it  was  their  error  to  rest  the 
support  of  the  gospel  on  the  same  basis  with  that  of  the 
civil  government,  and  compel  every  citizen  to  share  in  the 
expense.  The  Cambi'idge  Platform  declares  (Chap.  XL), 
"  That  not  only  members  of  churches,  but  all  who  are 
taught  in  the  word,  are  to  contribute  unto  him  that  teach- 
eth  in  all  good  things  ;  and  that  the  magistrate  is  to  see 
that  the  ministry  be  duly  provided  for."  The  settlement 
and  support  of  the  ministry  was  left  no  longer  to  the  zeal 
of  the  churches,  but  laws  were  soon  passed  requiring  every 
town  to  support  a  minister,  the  burden  to  be  laid  "  upon 
the  whole  society  jointly,  whether  in  church  order  or 
not."  1^ 

The  common  mode  of  settling  a  minister  was  for  the 
church  to  give  him  a  call,  and  then  the  town,  at  a  legal 
meeting,  would  concur  in  the  invitation  and  vote  the  re- 
quired salary.  If  there  was  no  church  to  take  the  incipi- 
ent steps,  the  town  proceeded  in  the  selection  of  a  candidate. 
Ministers  were  often  settled  in  this  way  for  life.  Towns 
not  only  voted  the  salary,  which  was  assessed  and  collect- 
ed the  same  as  other  taxes,  but,  on  settUiig  a  man,  a 
"  settlement"  was  usually  voted,  much  larger  in  amount 
than  the  annual  salaiy,  that  he  might  provide  himself  with 

"  See  Hildreth's  His.  of  U.  S.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  393.  Also  Hutchinson's 
His.  of  Mass.,  I.,  376,  where  he  says,  "  In  1654,  County  Courts  were 
empowered  to  assess  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  towns  that  neglected 
the  support  of  the  Ministry."  In  Boston  the  ministry  were  supported 
by  free  weekly  contributions.  Williamson's  His.  of  Maine,  says,  Vol. 
I.,  p.  356,  "  Penal  laws  were  enacted,  which  required  each  town  to  pro- 
vide means  for  supporting  a  pious  ministry." 


20  REQUIRED    MISSION. 

a  home  among  his  people  ;  and,  as  Increase  Mather  says, 
"  in  Qi'der  to  some  Subsistence  of  his  family,  in  Case  he 
dy  among  them»" 

These  laws  underwent  various  modifications,  but  in  all 
their  changes  the  Puritanic  principle  Avas  triumphant, 
that  every  man,  as  a  good  citizen,  was  not  only  bound  in 
duty  to  attend  meeting,  but  he  must  support  the  minister  ; 
Voluntarily  if  he  would,  from  necessity  if  he  would  not. 
About  ten  years  after  the  rise  of  the  Freewill  Baptists, 
the  laAV  was  so  amended  in  New  Hampshire  and  some 
other  States,  that  a  person,  to  be  exempt  from  taxation, 
was  required  to  be  a  member  of  some  other  than  the  Con- 
gregational denomination,  and  prove  that  he  regularly 
attended  meeting  elsewhere  on  the  Lord's  day.  Sat- 
isfactory evidence  was  not  always  at  hand,  and  taxes 
were  assessed.  In  default  of  their  payment,  the  parish 
collector  has  been  known  to  enter  the  dwelling  of  honest 
poverty  and  take  "  the  peA\'i:er  platters,"  ^^  "  table,  chairs, 
and  andirons,"  and  to  sell  "at  vendue  the  cow  of  the  poor 
laborer."  ^^  If  an  appeal  was  made  to  a  higher  tribunal, 
courts  and  juries  were  often  tinctured  with  the  spirit  of 
the  laws,  able  counsel  was  employed  at  the  expense  of  the  ' 
tOA^^l,  and  the  plaintiff  was  liable  to  be  ruined  by  a  law- 
suit, and  perhaps  imprisoned.  Nor  did  this  legal  support 
of  religion  affect  individuals  only.  ToAvns,  when  delin- 
quent in  the  payment  of  their  minister,  were  sometimes 
admonished  to  duty  by  a  suit  at  law."  ^o 

Men  who  were  thus  compelled  to  build  meeting  houses 
they  nev'Cr  entered,  and  to  support  ministers  they  never 
heard,  became  prejudiced  against  religion  itself.  The 
tide   of  popular  indignation  ran  high,  and  near  the  com- 

is  Hildretli's  His.  of  U.  S.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  407. 

'9  Barstow's  His.  of  N.  H.,  pp.  422-442. 

2"  In  1801  tlie  minister  in  Warner  sued  the  tovra  for  the  arrearage  of 
his  salary,  and  collected  it. — N.  H.  Churches. 

In  181-5  the  minister  of  Gilmanton  commenced  an  action  against  the 
town  for  his  salary  arrearages,  and  to  avoid  a  lawsuit,  the  tovm.  assessed 
itself  $1,402,  to  meet  his  demand. — History  of  Gilmanton,  N.  II. 


DOCTRINES    CALYINISTIC.  21 

menceraent  of  tlie  present  century  all  were  exempt  from 
further  taxation  at  their  express  request ;  but  it  was  not 
till  our  denominational  fathers  had  resisted  the  conipiil-ory 
support  of  religion  for  tJiirty-jvine  years,  that  the  "Toler- 
ation Act "  swept  from  the  statute  book  the  Tast  vestige  of 
these  obnoxious  laws. 

This  subject  has  been  thus  largely  discussed,  to  sliovv^ 
that  the  first  Freewill  Baptists  had  occasion  and  were  in 
duty  required  to  oppose  the  principle  of  a  '■'■  hireliiicj" 
ministry.  So  pernicious  in  its  effects  was  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  religious  coercion,  that  they  felt  themselves  com- 
pelled for  the  time,  to  stand  upon  the  extreme  ground  of 
voluntary  corLtributions  privately  given.  We  may  hear 
them  reproached  as  opposed  to  salaried  ministers,  and  the 
effects  of  that  opposition  may  still  be  felt  in  some  of  our 
churches,  but,  before  we  join  with  their  traducers,  let  us 
remember  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  wliich  they  were 
placed. 

Doctrine.  Prior  to  the  rise  of  the  Freewill  Baptists, 
the  people  were  faithfully  indoctrinated  in  the  tenets  of 
personal,  unconditional  election  and  reprobation — the  abso- 
lute perseverance  of  the  saints, — and  the  dogma  that  "  God 
ordains  whatsoever  comes  to  pass."  These  doctrines  were 
presented  in  all  their  naked  deformity,  and  urged  over  and 
over  again  upon  those  whose  power  of  endurance  enabled 
them  to  attend  iipon  such  ministrations. 

Neal's  History  of  ISTew  England  says,  "  The  whole 
body  of  the  New  England  clergy  are  Calvinists."  And 
Mather  says,  "  In  two  hundred  churches,  not  one  is  Ar- 
miuian." 

Baptist  ministers  were  decidedly  Calvinistic,  and  about 
the  year  1770  their  cause  received  a  new  impulse,  partic- 
ularly in  New  Hampshire.  Revival  ministers  travelled, 
preached,  bapti5:cd,  and  formed  churches.  While  laboring 
for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  they  had  little  occasion  to 
present  the  frightful  skeleton  of  Calvinism  ;  but  they  had 
it  with  them,  and  when  the  religious  intei'est  declined  or 


22  REQUIRED    MISSION. 

the  truths  of  a  free  salvation  were  taught  by  others,  then 
the  hare  hones  were  brought  forth.  Lest  our  judgment 
may  be  called  partial  and  severe,  we  will  let  Benedict, 
their  learned  and  accredited  historian,  speak  for  himself. 
Having  spent  a  long  life  in  his  Baptist  researches,  he 
says,  2^  "  "We  must  bear  in  mind  that  all  were  set  down  as 
Arminians  who  did  not  come  up  to  the  highest  point  of 
Hyper-Calvinism.  Our  old  ministers  in  this  region,  half  a 
century  since,  would  have  denounced  as  unsound  in  the 
faith,  the  great  mass  of  our  community  of  the  present  day, 
both  in  Europe  and  America,  Fuller  and  Hall  among  the 
rest."  At  the  close  of  his  impartial  history,  he  discusses 
several  questions  of  general  interest,  and  among  others, 
"  The  Three  great  Evils  among  the  Baptists.''''  The  second, 
as  announced  in  his  own  words,  is,  "  Hyper- Calvinism  ; 
or  what  Robert  Hall  denominated,  '  thick  skinned  Antino- 
mianism.'  This  has  been  the  bane  of  the  denomination 
for  about  two  centuries  past."  He  then  speaks  (in  1848) 
of  the  great  change  within  the  last  balf  century  ;  but  he 
seems  not  to  have  understood  that  the  mission  of  the  Free- 
will Baptists  had  in  any  degree  produced  it,  or  his  faith- 
fulness as  a  historian  would  have  led  him  to  acknowledge 
the  fact. 

The  doctrine  of  infant  baptism  was  of  almost  universal 
practice  in  Congregational  societies.  So  essential  was  it 
considered,  that  the  veiy  first  opportunity  was  sought  for 
the  christening  ceremony.  In  some  towns  almost  the 
entire  population  had  ^'received  baptism  in  infancy,  either 
under  the  half-ioay  covenant,  or  by  parents  in  full  com- 
munion," ^2  so  that  not  one  in  twenty  received  baptism,  or 
any  substitute  therefor,  at  the  time  of  admission  to  the 
church.  The  Baptists  were  right  on  this  question,  but 
over  against  it  might  be  set  thxiir  close  communion. 

A  return  to  the  landmarks  of  Bible  truth  was  strongly 
demanded  ;  and,  in  the  doctrine  of  our  fathers,  the  demand 
was  fully  met. 

•I  History  of  the  Baptists,  p,  580.  -«  N,  H.  Churches,  p.  262. 


DOCTRINES    CALVINISTIC.  23 

Impiety.  When  the  proportion  of  men  not  pious  had 
greatly  increased  in  the  colonies,  they  became  clamorous 
for  privileges  in  the  church,  since  they  were  compelled  to 
aid  in  its  support.  Tliey  asked  these  privileges  for  both 
themselves  and  their  children.  "  Great  debates  arose 
about  this  time  among  the  New  England  ministers  con- 
cerning the  right  of  grand-chjldreit  of  church-members,  to 
the  sacrament  of  baptism,  whose  immediate  parents  had 
not  entered  into  the  Communion."^^  The  General  Court 
called  a  synod  at  Boston  in  1662,  and  submitted  this  ques- 
tion :  "  Who  are  the  Subjects  of  Baptism  ?"  The  decis- 
ion "  recognized  all  baptized  [sprinkled]  persons  as  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  and  their  children  as  entitled  to 
baptism."^*  The  churches  were  greatly  agitated,  and 
zealously  opposed  this  decision,  but  most  of  them  finally 
acquiesced,  as  none  but  the  regenerated  were  admitted  to 
the  Lord's  Supper. 

This  scheme  of  receiving  into  church  memb'ersliip  all 
persons  sprinkled  in  infancy  and  *■'  not  scandalous  in  life," 
though  not  professedly  pious,  Avas  mainly  the  result  of  civil 
authority,  and  was  called  the  "  half-way  covenant."  Bur- 
ring the  eighteenth  century  large  numbers  tMis  "  owned 
the  covenant,"  and  were  received  ;  sometimes  hundreds 
under  the  ministry  of  a  single  man.  In  many  places  the 
distinction  between  full  communionists  and  "  half-way  cov- 
enanters" was  but  little  regarded,  and  thus  unconverted  per- 
sons became  the  acknowledged  members  of  the  church."^^ 
Men  were  urged  to  unite  with  the  church,  though  unac- 
quainted with  experimental  religion.^^  Nor  can  we  won- 
der at  this,  as  in  some  instances  the  minister  himself  was 
a  stranger  to  grace. 

The  "  half-way  covenant,"  in  its  practical  operation, 
greatly  lowered  the  standard  of  piety,  loosely  held  the 
reigns  of  discijjline,  and  developed  that  "liberal"  policy 

23  Neal's  His.  of  N.  E.,  p.  331.        ^4  EneyclopEEdia  of  Relig.  Knowl. 
2»  Dr.  Increase  Mather,  in  his  "  Discipline  of  the  Churches  of  N.  E." 
26  N.  H.  Chvu-ches,  pp.  84,  181,  184., 


24:  REQUIRED   MISSION. 

Avliich  ripened  into  Unitai'ianism,  and  in  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century  divided  the  body. 

After  the  first  and  second  o-enerations  of  the  Pil"-rims 
had  passed  away,  piety  began  to  decline.  Their  descen- 
dants adliered  to  the  forms  of  worship  with  Jev.'ish  tenac- 
ity, but  the  pious  sjririt  of  their  fathers  was  no  more. 
The  annual  sermons  on  election  day  after  the  first  half 
century  abound  in  remarks  like  the  following  i^"  "  O 
what  a  sad  metamorphosis  hath  there  of  late  years  pass- 
ed over  us  in  these  churches  and  plantations  !  Alas  I 
How  is  New  England  in  danger  this  day  to  be  lost  even  in 
New  England — to  be  buried  in  its  own  ruins."  "  Wheth- 
er we  have  not  in  a  great  measure  forgot  our  errand  into 
the  wilderness,  is  a  solemn  and  serious  inquiry."  "  Have 
we  not  reason  to  expect  that  ere  long  our  mourners  ^^'ill 
go  up  and  down,  and  say,  '  How  is  New  England  fallen  ! 
The  land  that  was  a  land  of  holiness  hath  lost  her  holi- 
ness.' "  In  1719  Increase  Mather  said,  "  There  is  too  much 
Cause  to  complain  of  a  Gradual  and  a  Grov/ing  Apostasy 
from  the  Religious  Disposition  that  signalized  the  first 
Planters  of  the  Neio  English  Colonies.  The  Spirit  of  the 
ivorlcl  has  too  far  brought  a  Death  upon  the  Spirit  and 
Poioer  of  Godliness." 

Revivals  were  few  in  number  and  limited  in  extent. 
There  was  in  several  places  an  unusual  religious  interest 
in  1735,  and  in  1740,  '-41  and  '42,  it  became  so  general 
that  it  has  usually  been  called  the  "  Great  Awakening." 
George  "Whitefield  was  then  "  ranging"  on  his  first  tours 
through  New  England.  Others  caught  his  spirit,  and 
preaching  faitlifully,  thousands  were  brought  to  Christ. 
But  while  the  Spirit  wrought  powerfidly  Satan  raged  ma- 
liciously ;  and,  transfonning  himself  into  an  angel  of  light, 
some  were  led  off  in  delusion. 

Taking   advantage  of   "  disorders  and  imprudences," 
heartless  professors  united  with  wicked  opposers,  and  pul- 
pits were  closed  against  these  "  new-light  "  preachers.  The 
"'  Princes'  Christian  Histories. 


STATE   OF   PIETY  DEPLORABLE.  25 

old  spirit  of  Puritan  intolerance  Avas  again  revived,  and 
laws  were  enacted  against  their  measures. 

The  spirit  of  revival  soon  began  to  decline  ;  the  "  Sep- 
arates," who  left  the  churches,  soon  lost  their  identity  as  a 
class,  and  a  spirit  of  formal  conservatism  again  rested 
doTiTi  upon  the  churches.  This  was  the  state  of  things 
when  the  mantle  of  Whitefield  fell  upon  Randall.  So  low 
was  the  state  of  religion  at  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
that  the  author  of  "  New  Hampshire  Churches,"  says 
"  evangelical  Christians  were  not  more  than  one  to  twenty- 
three  of  the  whole  population."  The  Congregationalists 
counted  their  members  in  ten-fold  greater  numbers  than 
any  other  denomination.  The  Baptists  had  planted  them- 
selves permanently  in  all  the  colonies  ;  the  Presbyterians, 
Episcopalians,  and  Quakers,  had  each  a  few  churches,  but 
neither  of  them  presented  salvation,  full  and  free,  on  the 
simple  condition  of  repentance  and  faith,  so  as  to  meet  the 
wants  of  the  masses. 

No  Methodist  had  then  made  his  circuit  in  New  Eng- 
land, and  other  efficient  laborers  of  later  date  were  none 
of  them  in  the  field.  Calvinism,  in  its  most  unlovely 
forms,  held  undisputed  sway.  The  love  of  God  was  but 
faintly  seen,  gilding  with  radiance  the  hopes  of  man,  for 
it  lay  obscured  behind  the  dark  clouds  of  unconditional 
election  and  reprobation.  The  all-fulness  of  Christ  was 
seen  in  the  Bible,  but  not  believed,  because  the  doctrine  of 
election  was  so  explained  as  to  limit  the  provisions  of  the 
gospel  to  the  chosen  few.  The  sinner  continued  in  his  sins, 
and  the  professor  clung  to  an  old  hope,  because  both  were 
taught  that  nothing  could  be  done,  till  God,  by  his  irresist- 
ible spirit,  was  pleased  to  move  them  to  action.  Divine 
wrath  was  knoAvn  to  rest  upon  the  "vvicked,  but  there  was 
no  salvation  for  all ;  and  if  there  was,  the  will  of  man 
was  not  free  to  choose  the  way  of  life,  till  special  motives 
were  presented  to  him  as  one  of  the  elect. 

Left  to  a  forlorn  hope,  man  sat  down  in  gi'ief :  over  his 
sad  condition,  or  his  thirsty  soul  drank  in  the  pleasures  of 
3 


26  APOSTOLIC   TYPE    OF   F,  BAPTIST   MISSION. 

life,  only  to  suffer  a  more  intolerable  thirst.  But  Godliaa 
never  been  unmindful  of  his  creatures  ;  and  so  deliver- 
ance came  from  an  unexpected  source,  and  in  an  eventful 
period  of  our  country's  history.  The  doubtful  issue  of 
the  Revolution  was  then  pending,  and  while  the  fixes  of 
freedom  were  burning  on  the  altar  of  almost  every  heart, 
there  lived  in  the  "  hiU  country  "  of  New  Hampshire  and 
Maine,  men  of  clear  heads  and  warm  hearts,  who  declared 
their  belief  in  the  freedom  of  the  tvill,  and  the  fulness  of 
the  gospel.  "  The  common  people  heard  "  them  "  gladly," 
for  they  had  been  more  oppressed  with  the  doctrines  of 
ultra  Calvinism,  than  by  the  injustice  of  British  taxation. 
There  was  a  providence  in  the  entrance  of  those  godly 
men  into  the  gospel  field.  After  reading  the  following 
pages,  it  will  not  be  doubted  that  He  who  called  Abraham 
and  Jeremiah,  the  twelve  disciples  and  Paul  the  apostle, 
called  also  the  fathers  of  our  denomination.  Putting  his 
spirit  into  their  hearts,  and  his  word  into  their  mouths,  he 
sent  them  forth  to  preach  a  free  and  full  salvation,  unen- 
cumbered with  the  forms  of  worship  or  the  doctrines  of 
men. 


SECTION  II. 

THE  APOSTOLIC  TYPE  OF  THE  FEEEWILL  BAPTIST 
INHSSION. 

The  Bible— God— Christ— Atonement— Spirit's  Aid— Free  AVill— Perse- 
Terance — Ministry — Church — ^^Vorship — Baptism — Communion — ^His- 
torical Traces  of  the  Baptists — Glance  at  the  Doctrine  of  General  Ee- 
demption> 

The  religious  wants  of  Ncav  England,  as  stated  in  the 
preceding  Section,  indicate  the  nature  of  the  required  sup- 
ply. On  a  more  careful  inspection  of  the  subject,  it  will 
be  found  that  the  FreewiU  Baptists  did  not  introduce  a 
new  religion,  they  only  labored  to  re-construct  the  apos- 


BIBLE GOD CHRIST ATONEMENT.  27 

tolic  platform  ;  and,  standing  upon  it,  their  success  was 
the  apostolic  spirit  revived.  This  will  be  seen  of  them  as 
ii  body,  in  the  running  statement  of  their  doctrinal  posi- 
tions, which  here  follows. 

They  believed,  the  Bible  "  is  given  by  inspiration  of 
Ood,"  and  is  our  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice. 

They  believed  in  God,  as  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit  ^ 
of  infinite  attributes  and  righteous  providences. 

They  could  say,  "  Christ  is  aU,  and  in  all,  to  us."  He 
was  the  Author  of  their  salvation,  and  their  all-pre- 
vailing name  with  God.  He  was  in  them  "  the  hope  of 
glory,"  and  they  in  him  could  "  do  all  things"  required. 
They  trusted  in  him  themselves,  and  commended  him  to 
others,  as  an  all-sufficient  Saviour, 

Since  it  had  pleased  the  Father  that  Jesus  "  should 
taste  death  for  every  man,"  and  since  he  "  gave  himself  a 
ransom  for  all,"  they  had  no  hesitancy  in  saying,  "  he  is 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins  ;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but 
also  for  the  sins  of  the  wliole  world"  Like  the  apostles, 
they  believed  in  a  general  atonement- 

They  believed  in  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  *'  guide  into  all 
truth,"  a  help  under  all  "  infirmities,"  and  an  everlasting 
comfort  to  the  soul.  Their  own  strength  was  weakness, 
their  wisdom,  folly,  and  their  "  righteousness  as  filthy  rags." 
But  when  Divinely  impressed  with  a  sense  of  duty,  and 
*'  endowed  with  power  from  on  high,"  they  "  conferred 
not  with  flesh  and  blood."  Their  belief  in  the  necessity  of 
the  Spirit's  aid,  has  seldom  been  equalled. 

They  believed  in  the  foreknowledge  of  God,  but  denied 
that  it  necessitated  the  acts  of  man.  Both  the  invitations 
and  threatenings  of  the  gospel,  its  warnings  and  admoni- 
tions, imply  free  moral  agency  ;  and  they  impressed  upon 
dying  sinners  the  words  of  our  S-^viour  :  "  Ye  will  not 
come  unto  me  tliat  ye  might  have  life."  Such  are  the 
motives  to  piety  and  the  freedom  of  choice,  that  the  per- 
sistent sinner  was  assured  that  he  would  stand  self-con- 
demned, eternally  reiterating  the  sentence,   "  Thou  hast 


2B  APOSTOLIC   TYPE   OF   F.    BAPTIST   MISSION. 

destroyed  thyself."  So  important  Avas  their  estimate  of 
this  sentiment — freewill — that  it  was  reproachfully  forced 
upon  them  as  a  part  of  their  denominational  name. 

Because  persons  had  been  "  once  enlightened,"  and 
."  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  their  final  salvation 
was  not  regarded  as  certain  ;  but  the  caution  to  them  was, 
"  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 
The  fathers  could  give  only  this  assurance  :  "  He  that  en- 
dureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved."  Hence,  "  the  persever- 
ance of  the  saints,"  as  an  article  of  faith,  like  the  salva- 
tion of  sinners,  was  conditional. 

A  divine  call  to  the  ministry,  was  regarded  as  no  less 
essential  than  in  the  days  of  the  apostles.  That  "  no  man 
taketh  this  honor  unto  himself,  but  he  that  is  called  of 
God,  as  was  Aaron."  And  they  Avould  lay  hands  on  no 
man  till  convinced  that  "  the  Holy  Ghost  said.  Separate 
me"  this  candidate  for  the  ministry. 

They  taught  that  "  the  workman  is  worthy  of  his 
meat,"  and  said,  "  Let  him  that  is  taught  in  the  word, 
communicate  unto  him  that  teacheth  in  all  good  things." 
But  this  support  must  be  voluntary.  They  gloried  in  say- 
ing, "  Thy  benefit  should  not  be  as  it  were  of  necessity, 
but  willingly."  They  made  no  charge  for  their  services, 
but  said,  "  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give." 

The  church  was  regarded  as  a  divine  institution  ;  and, 
prior  to  membership,  each  one  "  must  be  born  again." 
Discipline  was  faithfully  administered,  that  Christ  might 
abide  in  the  body,  and  "  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar 
people,  zealous  of  good  works."  They  believed  that  there 
.  was  growth  in  gi-ace,  and  progress  in  Christian  experi- 
ence. 

In  worship,  little  reliance  was  placed  on  the  outward 
form,  but  everything  depended  on  the  spirit  within.  Theirs 
was  heart  worship  ;  and  its  manifestations  were  sometimes 
.liable  to  criticism.  They  recognized  God  as  a  spirit,  and 
true  worshippers  to  be  such  only  as  "  worship  him  in  spirit 
and  ijQjtruth."     They  could  say,  "  The  Spirit  itself  bear- 


HISTORICAL   TRACES    OF   THE   BAPTISTS.  29 

eth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  children  of 
God."  And  without  this  witness  there  was  no  rest  to 
their  souls. 

Repentance,  faith,  baptism,  church  membership,  and 
communion,  was  the  order  of  obedience. 

The  conditional  assurance  of  Philip  to  the  eunuch,  was 
made  to  all  applicants  for  baptism  :  "  If  thou  believest 
with  all  thy  heart,  thou  may  est,"  And  they  could  not 
think  themselves  the  obedient  followers  of  Christ,  unless 
they  were  "  buried  wiih  him  in  baptism," 

The  communion  of  saints  was  the  communion  of  the 
fathers.  The  observance  of  this  ordinance  in  remem- 
brance of  Christ,  was  so  fraught  with  his  presence,  that  it 
was  not  in  their  hearts,  neither  was  it  in  accordance  with 
the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  to  restrict  any  child  of  God,  even 
by  inference,  from  coming  to  the  Lord's  table.  The  Christ- 
like  sentiment  of  the  heart,  as  well  as  the  kind  invitation 
from  the  mouth,  was,  to  every  one  who  could  discern  "  the 
Lord's  body,"  "  Come  with  us," 

Thus  did  the  early  Freewill  Baptists  cut  loose  from  the 
traditions  of  the  church,  the  doctrines  of  men,  and  the 
time-serving  policy  of  the  age  ;  and,  planting  themselves 
on  the  word  of  God,  they  believed  what  it  taught,  and 
practiced  what  it  required.  In  so  doing  they  were  pre- 
pared to  meet  the  demands  of  the  times  ;  and  great  was 
the  blessing  of  their  labors  in  the  conversion  of  sinners, 
the  revival  of  spiritual  worship,  and  the  restoration  of 
primitive  Christianity. 

Historical  Traces  of  the  Baptists  are  found  from  the  days 
of  Christ,  along  the  earlier  pathway  of  Christians,  through 
the  Dark  Ages,  and  down  to  modern  times.  Mosheim^ 
and  Neander,^  the  two  most  eminent  historians  of  the 
church,  both  affirm  that  in  the  first  century  baptism  was 
administered  by  immersion. 

The  heresy  of  baptismal  regeneration  led  to  the  baptism 

1  Vol.  I.,  page  87.  '^  VoL  I.,  p.  310. 


30  APOSTOLIC   TYPE    OF   P.    BAPTIST   MISSIOM. 

of  infants,  and  to  sprinkling  as  a  more  convenient  mode. 
The  first  historical  allusion  to  this  subject,  is  the  opposition 
of  TertuUian,  near  the  close  of  the  second  century. 

But  soon  after  his  day,  the  march  of  error  was  irresist- 
ible ;  and,  with  other  innovations,  that  changed  the  apos- 
toHc  church  into  a  papal  hierarchy,  sprinkling  became  the 
established  mode. 

Opposition,  however^  was  made  in  every  age,  by  per- 
sons noted  for  their  learning,  position  or  piety  ;  and  by 
large  and  influential  bodies  of  dissenters.  The  Novatians, 
scattered  over  the  Roman  empire  from  the  third  to  the 
sixth  century,  and  the  Donatists,  who  flourished  in  Africa 
about  the  same  time,  were  generally  orthodox  on  the  sub- 
ject of  baptism. 3  The  Greek  church  has  ever  practised 
immersion  ;  and  the  Pauhcians,  a  numerous  sect  of  Greek 
dissenters  in  the  East,  commencing  in  the  seventh  century, 
and  called  by  MOner,  "  The  Restorers  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment order  of  things,"  restricted  baptism  to  believers. 

That  pious  and  persecuted  people,  knoAvn  as  the  Wal- 
denses  and  Albigenses,  from  the  twelfth  century  onward, 
practised  believers'  baptism  in  the  apostolic  manner.  The 
Anabaptists  of  Germany  had  their  origin  anterior  to  the 
Reformation,  and,  though  erroneous  in  some  respects,  their 
views  of  baptism  were  Scriptural.  Traces  of  the  Baptists 
are  found  in  England,  at  intervals  from  the  sixth  century 
to  the  death  of  Wickliffe.  From  that  time  onward,  their 
continued  existence  is  a  historical  fact. 

The  first  Baptist  church  in  America  was  organized  at 
Providence  by  Roger  Williams  in  1 639 .  At  the  commence- 
ment of  the  next  century  the  number  of  churches  was 
sixteen,  and  before  its  close  they  amounted  to  a  thousand. 

A  Glance^  Historically^  at  the  Doctrine  of  General  Re- 
demption^ discovers  no  controversy  on  the  subject  till  the 
fifth  century.     Pelagius,  a  man  of  piety  and  great  erudi- 

Benedict's  History  of  the  Baptists. 


GENERAL   REDEMPTION.  31 

tion,  then  defended  it  by  arguments  that  Augustine  re- 
garded as  unscriptural ;  and  thus  the  Pelagian  controversy 
commenced.  Both  parties  took  extreme  ground,  and, 
finally,  a  medium  position  was  more  generally  adopted-, 
which  recognized  predestination  as  conditional.  In  the 
sixteenth  century  John  Calvin  of  Geneva,  a  theologian  of 
great  power,  revived  the  doctHnes  of  Augustine  ;  and  he, 
in  turn,  was  opposed  by  James  Arminius  of  Holland,  who 
was  equal  to  the  task.  From  that  day  to  this,  the  Chris- 
tian world  has  been  divided  between  Calvinism  and  Ar- 
minianism. 

Benedict,  in  his  history  of  the  Baptists,  says,  "It  is 
evident  that  the  Dutch  and  German  Baptists  have,  gener- 
ally speaking,  been  of  an  Arminian  cast."  He  also  says  that 
in  England  they  have  "  long  been  divided  in  their  views  on 
the  atonement,  whether  it  is  general  or  f  articular ."  The 
first  controversy  on  predestination  among  the  English  re- 
formers, was  in  queen  Mary's  reign,  when  those  who  be- 
lieved in  the  freedom  of  the  will  were  called  '■^  freewillers"'^ 
At  the  time  Massachusetts  was  settled,  about  one-fourth  of 
the  English  clergy  were  Arminians. 

In  speaking  of  Roger  Williams'  church,  Benedict  makes 
this  honorable  admission :  "In  my  opinion  it  is  fair  to 
admit  that  this  body  in  early  times,  and  for  a  long  course 
of  years  afterwards,  had  it  been  in  England,  would  have 
come  under  the  General  head." 

The  same  was  true  of  the  first  Baptist  church  in  New 
York  city.  He  gives  a  list  of  fifty-eight  churches  formed 
prior  to  1750,  and  in  a  note  says,  "  A  considerable  num- 
ber of  these  old  churches  were  of  the  General  Baptist  or- 
der." 

It  is  thus  seen  that  the  position  of  the  Freewill  Baptists 
is  not  only  scripturally  sustained,  but  historically  endorsed. 

*  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  Vol.  I.,  p.  65. 


32  RANDALL   AND   HIS    CO-LABORERS. 

SECTION    III. 
RANDALL  AND  HIS  FIRST  CO-LABORERS. 

Nativity — ChUdhood — Apprenticeship — Conversion — A  Congregational- 
ist — Leaves  the  Church — ^A  Baptist — Duty  to  Preach — Persecution — 
Settles  at  New  Durham — Disowned  by  the  Calvinists — Ordination — 
Descriptive  Remarks — Lord — Lock —  Shepherd —  Tingley  —  Weeks — 
Hibbard. 

At  the  entrance  of  Portsmouth  harbor  is  a  rough  but 
fertile  island  of  about  five  hundred  acres.  It  is  three 
miles  distant  from  the  city,  and  is  now  connected  with  the 
mainland  by  a  substantial  bridge.  Here  was  commenced 
one  of  the  first  settlements  in  New  Hampshire  ;  and,  with 
a  population  that  never  exceeded  a  thousand,  it  early  be- 
came an  incorporated  to^vnship  by  the  name  of  New  Cas- 
t\e.  On  this  island  lived  Capt.  Benjamin  Randall.  He 
laid  no  claims  to  a  noble  ancestry,  and  yet,  being  an  hon- 
est man,  he  was  one  of  Nature's  noblemen.  His  wife 
was  connected  with  families  of  influence,  and  was  herself 
a  strong  minded  and  pious  woman. 

Benjamin,  their  first  son  and  future  glory  of  the  family, 
was  born  February  7,  1 749.  Like  Samuel,  he  seems  to  have 
been  "  lent  to  the  Lord"  in  his  infancy  ;  and  in  early  child- 
hood he  was  the  subject  of  strong  religious  impressions. 
His  early  training  and  religious  convictions  directed  his 
youthful  mind  to  the  great  work  that  characterized  his 
riper  years.  At  the  age  of  nine  he  accompanied  his  fa- 
ther to  sea  ;  and,  when  not  at  school,  this  was  his  employ- 
ment till  eighteen.  But  the  profanity,  recklessness,  and 
entire  want  of  Christian  privileges  in  a  sea-faring  life, 
were  so  repulsive  to  his  high  sense  of  propriety  and  relig- 
ion, that  he  was  then  placed,  at  his  own  request,  as  an  ap- 
prentice with  a  sail-maker  in  Portsmouth.  At  this  time 
Portsmouth  was  much  the  largest  town  in  the  state,  and  a 


Randall's  childhood.  33 

place  of  considerable  business.  The  advantages  of  a  res- 
idence here  till  he  was  twenty-one,  were  many,  and  no  one 
sought  more  earnestly  to  profit  by  them.  He  never  neg- 
lected his  seasons  of  fasting  and  prayer,  or  the  Sabbath- 
day  worship  of  God,  whatever  were  the  influences  around 
him.  He  sometimes  allowed  himself  to  engage  in  dancing 
and  similar  recreations  ;  nor  did  he  often  feel  condemned 
in  this,  so  long  as  he  had  before  him  the  example  of  church 
members,  and  could  fall  back  upon  his  own  carefully  ob- 
served forms  of  devotion. 

There  were  times,  however,  when  the  folly  of  his  life, 
and  the  emptiness  of  his  religion,  left  him  no  hope  amid 
the  overwhelming  convictions  of  a  guilty  conscience  and 
the  reproving  spirit.  Shame  and  fear  would  then  keep 
him  from  his  devotions  for  a  time,  but  afterwards,  by 
more  frequent  and  fervent  prayers,  he  would  soon  consider 
his  account  as  balanced. 

At  the  time  when  Mr.  Randall  stepped  from  his  minori- 
ty into  the  scenes  of  responsible  life,  the  facilities  for  ac- 
quiring an  education  were  very  limited.  Common  schools 
were  established  in  every  town,  but  their  continuance  was 
short  and  their  advantages  poor.  That  very  year  was 
Dartmouth  College  opened  in  the  wilderness  at  Hanover, 
with  "  two  or  three  log  houses,"  for  the  education  of  In- 
dians and  such  as  purposed  to  be  missionaries  among  them. 
It  was  more  than  ten  years  after  this  before  the  first  Acad- 
emy in  the  state  was  founded,  and  Capt.  Randall  had  not 
the  means  of  sending  his  son  abroad.  Such  opportunities, 
however,  as  the  country  afibrded,  were  improved,  and  he 
acquired  a  good  "  mercantile  education,"  which  was  more 
than  the  people  generally  possessed. 

Being  now  twenty-one  years  of  age,  Randall  returned 
to  New  Castle.  The  same  year,  1770,  George  "White- 
field  made  his  last  visit  to  America.  Various  were  the 
feelings  with  which  this  man  of  God  was  regarded.  Those 
who  were  liberally  minded  and  truly  pious,  received  him 


34  RANDALL   AXD   HIS   CO-LABORERS. 

as  a  servant  of  the  Most  High  ;  but  bigoted  professors 
and  opposing  sinners,  rejected  him  as  a  vagi-ant  fanatic. 
When  the  news  of  his  arrival  in  Portsmouth  was  an- 
nounced in  New  Castle,  Mr;  Randall's  spirit  of  opposition 
was  so  bitter  that  he  would  gladly  have  seen  him,  and 
every  other  travelling  preacher,  whipped  out  of  town.  But 
the  people  generally  went  to  hear  the  famous  man,  and 
Mr.  Randall  went  with  them.  He  afterwards  said,  "  The 
power  with  which  he  spoke  was  a  torment  to  me."  But 
great  as  was  his  opposition,  an  unrecognized  influence  con- 
strained him  to  attend  day  after  day.  The  searching 
truths  and  stirring  appeals  to  which  he  listened,  only  har- 
dened his  unbelieving  heart.  It  was  on  Friday  that  he 
heard  him  for  the  last  time.  The  Sunday  following,  his 
own  minister  was  to  preach  in  Portsmouth,  and  Randall 
went  over  with  him.  He  says,  "  It  was  September  30, 
that  memorable  day  !  That  blessed  day  to  Whitefield,  that 
blessed  day  to  me  !"  At  noon,  a  stranger  came  riding 
slowly  along  the  street,  and,  as  he  rode,  in  a  clear  but  sub- 
dued tone,  he  cried,  "  Mr.  Whitefield  is  dead.  He  died  in 
Newburyport  at  6  o'clock  this  morning."  With  this  an- 
nouncement came  an  arrow  from  the  quiver  of  the  Al- 
mighty. It  pierced  the  heart  of  Randall,  and  sent  a  thrill 
of  anguish  through  his  soul.  He  had  fortified  himself 
against  the  power  of  God  in  the  living  preacher,  but  now 
he  was  taken  unawares  and  entirely  disarmed.  He  says, 
"A  voice  sounded  through  my  soul,  more  loud  and  start- 
ling than  ever  thunder  pealed  upon  my  ears.  Whitefield 
is  dead  !"  "  Whitefield,"  said  he,  "  is  now  in  heaven,  but 
I  am  on  the  road  to  hell.  He  was  a  man  of  God,  yet  I 
reviled  him,  and  spoke  reproachfully  of  him.  He  taught 
me  the  way  to  heaven,  but  I  regarded  it  not.  0  that  I 
could  hear  his  voice  once  again  !  But  ah,  never,  no  nev- 
er shall  I  hear  it  again,  till,  in  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day,  it  will  be  '  a  swift  witness '  against  me." 

Such  were  the  reflections  of  his  agitated  mind.     Re- 


Randall's  conversion.  35 

turning  home,  he  took  his  room  and  gave  himself  up  to 
meditation.  His  former  religion,  in  which  he  had  so  con- 
fidently trusted,  was  now  seen  to  be  entirely  worthless  ; 
and  such  was  his  discovery  of  himself,  that  no  person 
seemed  more  vile.  The  tempter  would  then  come  and 
say,  "  Why  all  this  distress  ?  You  have  not  been  a  pro- 
fane and  wicked  man,  but  a  man  of  prayer,  moral  in  your 
habits  and  respected  by  the  people.  Dismiss  all  these 
fears,  and  let  the  good  deeds  of  your  life  now  be  the  satis- 
faction of  your  soul."  But  a  miserable  comforter  was  he  ; 
for  it  was  the  state  of  his  heart,  rather  than  the  manner 
of  his  life,  that  now  troubled  him. 

At  times  he  became  more  calm,  endeavored  to  direct  his 
thoughts  to  other  subjects,  and  employed  himself  in  writ- 
ing, that  he  might  thus  divert  his  attention.  But  the 
preaching  of  Whitefield  still  sounded  in  his  ears,  and  was 
sometimes  brought  by  the  Spirit  more  fully  to  his  remem- 
brance ;  and  then  his  distress  would  again  roll  in  upon 
him  like  an  overwhelming  flood.  He  refused  to  be  com- 
forted ;  not  because  there  was  no  mercy  with  God,  but  be- 
cause he  was  just,  and  the  justice  of  God  forbade  all 
hope.  He  had  no  clue  to  the  mystery  of  "  God  in  Christ, 
reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,"  hence,  he  could  not 
see  how  a  sinner  like  himself  could  be  saved.  It  was  the 
justice  of  God  that  everywhere  stood  out  before  him,  and 
he  could  not  endure  the  thought  that  there  should  be  an 
infringement  upon  any  of  his  attributes.  He  finally  said, 
"  It  would  be  better  for  me  to  be  damned,  than  that  God's 
justice  should  be  infringed."  He  was  not  willing  to  be 
lost,  since  God  is  "  not  willing  that  any  should  perish," 
but  he  felt  constrained  to  say  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Watts, 

"  And  if  my  soul  were  sent  to  hell, 
Thy  righteous  law  approves  it  well." 

For  more  than  two  weeks  his  daily  experience  was, 

"  Weeping,  woe,  and  lamentation. 
Vain  desires  and  fruitless  prayer, 
Shame,  and  hell,  and  condemnation. 
Doubt,  distraction,  and  despair." 


36  RANDALL   AXD   HIS    CO-LABORERS. 

He  thought  of  Jesus  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world,  but 
he  could  not  trust  in  him,  for  the  Lord  is  "  ix  just  God  and 
Saviour." 

One  day,  as  he  was  musing  on  his  unhappy  state,  his 
mind  being  more  tranquil  than  usual,  the  Avords  of  the 
apostle  came  fi*esh  to  his  recollection,  (Heb.  9  :  26)  : 
"  But  now,  once  in  the  end  of  the  Avorld,  hath  he  appear- 
ed to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself."  They 
made  no  particular  impression,  but  as  they  occurred  a 
second  and  third  time,  he  began  to  reflect  upon  their  mean- 
ing. "  To  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself!"  Is 
it  not  possible,  he  thought,  that  in  some  way  "  he  appear- 
ed to  put  away"  my  sins  ?  He  began  to  hope,  and  even 
believe,  that  it  might  be  so  ;  for  he  dared  not  limit  the  infi- 
nite God.  It  Avas  no  prayer  that  he  was  now  ofiering  for 
the  removal  of  his  guilt,  and  yet  this  was  his  all-prevailing 
desire  ;  and  while  thinking  of  Jesus,  making  a  "  sacrifice 
of  himself "  to  put  away  sin,  he  thought  of  him  as  his 
only  hope;  and  his  burden  of  mind  was  gone.  All  was 
calm  and  peaceful.  That  was  the  glad  hour  of  his  trust 
in  the  Saviour.  For  a  moment  he  feared  that  God  had 
left  him  to  his  former  indiiFerent  and  hardened  state  ;  and 
he  cried  for  returning  conviction.  He  was  soon  satisfied 
that  God  had  not  left  him,  but  it  was  his  condemnation 
that  was  gone-.  "  Previous  to  this  discovery  of  my  guilt," 
he  says,  "  I  was  in  love  with  the  world  and  its  vani- 
ties. They  are  now  loathsome  to  me,  and  I  know  that 
I  love  God  and  long  after  righteousness.  "What,  then, 
is  this,  but  a  change  in  my  heart,  wrought  by  the  power  of 
God  ?  This  is  conversion,  this  is  what  is  meant  in  the 
Scriptures  by  being  '  born  again.'  As  soon  as  I  believed 
this,  I  gave  glory  to  God ;  and  O,  what  love,  joy  and 
peace  filled  my  soul !  I  now  saw  the  Lord  to  be  '  a  just 
God  and  a  Saviour,'  while  in  Christ  I  beheld  a  blessed 
sacrifice  for  sin,  to  the  full  satisfaction  of  Divine  justice. 
O  the  lovely  character  of  Jesus  ;  he  is  '  my  transport  and 
my  trust.'     His  precious  name  was  all  that  I  could  repeat. 


MEETIKG   IN   PORTSMOUTH.  37 

It  seemed  to  me  that,  if  I  had  ten  thousand  souls,  I  could 
trust  them  all  Avith  Jesus.  The  enrapturing  views  of  God 
as  my  friend,  of  Christ  as  my  Saviour,  of  the  atonement  as 
free  and  full,  were  such  as  no  language  can  describe."  The 
time  of  this  remarkable  change  was  October  15,  1770.^ 

Having  hired  a  sail-loft,  and  commenced  business  for  him- 
himself  in  New  Castle,  he  was  married  Nov,  28,  1771,  to 
Miss  Joanna  Oram,  a  woman  every  way  suitable  for  the 
place  she  was  called  to  fill.  The  family  altar  was  at  once 
erected,  and  the  propriety  of  uniting  with  the  church  was 
soon  considered.  All  their  associations  having  been  with 
the  Congregationalists,  they  never  thought  of  uniting  else- 
where. When  the  minister  was  acquainted  with  their 
desire,  he  encouraged  them,  and  said,  "  I  will  propound 
you  next  Sabbath."  But  the  step  being  an  important  one, 
Randall  desired  an  explanation  of  the  covenant  and  its  ob- 
ligations. Taking  a  copy  home,  they  duly  considered  the 
subject,  and,  after  fasting  and  prayer,  subscribed  their 
names.  It  was  in  November,  1 772,  that  they  were  received 
into  the  church. 

The  immoralities  which  he  soon  found  in  the  church  so 
grieved  his  soul,  that  the  next  summer  he  often  partook  of 
his  food  without  relish,  and  arose  from  his  bed  without 
rest.  He  became  so  pressed  in  spirit  that  he  revealed  his 
feelings  to  a  few  of  the  most  devoted  in  the  church,  who 
agreed  with  him  to  hold  a  meeting  on  Sabbath  and  Thurs- 
day evenings,  for  "  singing,  prayer,  and  the  reading  of  a 
sermon,  or  some  other  good  book."  Their  minister  at 
first  approved  of  these  meetings,  and  conviction  rested  up- 
on the  minds  of  the  people.  The  report  that,  "  Randall 
wants  to  be  a  preacher,"  greatly  crushed  his  spirit,  and 
his  going  to  other  Congregational  meetings  occasionally, 
seeking  for  more  spiritual  food,  alienated  from  him  the 
feelings  of  his  pastor. 

In  March,  1775,  Mr.  Randall  went  to  the  "  Separate" 

1  It  was  the  same  year  in  which  the  General  Baptists  in  England  es 
tablished  the  New  Connection. 

4 


38  RANDALL   AND   HIS   CO-LABORERS. 

meeting  house  in  Portsmouth  to  hear  an  Englishman  ;  and 
what  should  be  the  text  but  the  very  words  that  had  been 
blessed  to  his  salvation:  "But  now,  once  in  the  end  of 
the  world,  hath  he  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  himself."  No  sooner  was  the  text  announced  than 
the  joys  of  his  first  experience  again  filled  his  cup  of  bless- 
edness, and  he  longed  to  declare  what  the  Lord  had  done 
for  his  soul.  The  sermon  Avas  practical,  and  highly  exper- 
imental. At  the  close  of  the  service,  Randall  advanced 
to  the  pulpit  stairs,  and,  taking  the  hand  of  the  minister, 
intended  to  tell  him  only  a  little  of  his  rich  experience  ; 
but,  in  the  fulness  of  his  joy,  he  spoke  so  freely  and  audi- 
bly that  all  in  the  house  could  distinctly  hear.  Having 
obtained  his  consent  to  preach  in  New  Castle,  Randall 
went  home  rejoicing.  He  did  not,  he  could  not,  keep  si- 
lence, such  was  his  desire  to  "prepare  the  way  of  the 
Lord."  With  joyful  anticipations  he  called  on  his  pastor^ 
but,  to  his  utter  surprise,  found  him  indulging  in  the  same 
spirit  towards  the  stranger  that  he  had  himself  previously 
cherished  towards  Whitefield.  The  use  of  the  meeting 
house  was  positively  refused ;  and  here  was  another  un- 
looked-for trial.  When  the  day  of  the  meeting  arrived, 
both  the  minister  and  the  people  came,  and  the  ofiicers  of 
the  town  opened  the  house.  It  was  a  precious  season  to 
Randall,  though  with  it  came  an  additional  trial.  One  of 
his  brethren  in  the  church,  being  intoxicated,  so  disturbed 
the  meeting  that  he  was  carried  from  the  house.  A  com- 
plaint was  lodged  with  the  pastor,  who  refused  to  enter- 
tain it,  or  afterwards  to  recognize  Randall  who  brought  it. 
Randall  visited  and  reproved  the  oifending  man,  who 
wept  and  thanked  him  for  his  kindness. 

The  day  of  communion  was  approaching,  and  what  to 
do  he  did  not  know.  The  church  generally  sympathized 
with  the  pastor,  and  Randall  supposed  that  the  emblems 
would  be  refused  him,  and  if  so,  then  he  would  insist  upon 
a  trial.  But  in  this  he  was  disappointed ;  and  so  he  ex- 
amined himself,  and  did  eat  of  the  bread  and  drink  of  the 


BAPTISM.  39 

<cvip,  not  as  a  token  of  fellowship,  but  in  remembrance  of 
liis  dying  Lord.  Randalll's  only  alternative  now  was  to 
absent  liimself  from  the  meetings  and  ordinances  of  the 
■church,  and  await  its  action.  A  few  others  did  the  same, 
^nd  continuing  their  meetings  by  themselves,  they  soon 
became  the  subjects  of  reproach.  Here  closed  his  connec- 
(ion  with  that  church.  Its  vitality  was  so  far  gone  that 
no  action  Avas  ever  taken  in  his  case,  and  for  twenty-five 
years  there  was  not  a  single  addition.  Its  decline  contin- 
ued till  1821,  when  it  was  reduced  to  a  single  member, 
•"  and  she  was  a  widow,"  ^ 

While  walking  in  solitude,  and  contemj9lating  the  lost 
condition  of  poor  sinners,  -a  voice  seemed  to  say,  "  Why 
don't  you  warn  them .?"  Here  came  his  first  convictions 
that  the  Lord  would  have  him  preach  the  gospel.  Like 
Jonah,  he  fled ;  not  from  the  presence  of  tlie  Lord,  but 
into  the  army,  where  it  is  seldom  enjoyed.  This  was  a 
few  days  before  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  when  every 
patriot  was  ready  for  his  country's  defence.  During  his 
service  as  a  soldier,  he  never  forfeited  his  allegiance  to 
Christ,  the  great  Captain  of  his  salvation,  but  lived  an 
example  of  Christian  fidelity,  even  in  the  army.-^ 

With  Randall,  th<e  Bible  was  the  book  of  books.  He 
studied  it  with  this  searching  inquiry  :  "  What  is  truth  ?" 
And  he  now  brought  his  entire  faith  and  practice  to  the 
test  of  Scripture  proof.  The  birth  of  his  third  child  at 
this  time  led  him  to  examine  the  subject  of  infant  sprink- 
ling, and  he  searched  in  vain  for  the  proof.  In  his  inde- 
cision a  stranger  preached  in   tOA\Ti,   and,  in   compliance 

2  N.  H.  Churches,  p.  98. 

3  Mr.  Randall  held  the  rank  of  "  orderly  sergeant"  in  Col.  Mooney's 
regiment.  A  son  of  the  Colonel,  afterwards  Judge  Mooney,  was  then 
his  father's  waiter,  and  has  often  said,  "  1  had  a  very  high  regard  for 
Mr.  Randall,  both  as  a  man  and  a  Christian.  Whenever  he  heard  that 
a  soldier  was  sick,  he  sought  the  first  opportunity  to  visit  him  and  pray 
with  him.  Some  ridiculed  the  idea  of  prayers  in  the  camp,  and  my 
father  heard  of  it.  The  next  morning  when  the  regiment  was  paraded,  he 
-publicly  commended  the  -course  of  Mr.  Randall,  and  said,  '  I  will  punish 
the  first  man  that  shall  hereafter  make  lisht  of  his  kindness  to  the  sick.' " 


40  RANDALL   AND   HIS    CO-LABORERS. 

witli  the  mother's  importunities,  the  child  was  sprinkled. 
This  circumstance  led  to  a  most  thorough  investigation  of 
the  whole  subject.  He  weighed  the  facts  that  the  disciples 
of  John  "  were  baptized  of  him  in  Jordan  " — that  he  bap- 
tized in  Enon,  "  because  there  was  ?)mc/i  water  there" — 
that  in  the  baptism  of  the  eunuch,  "  they  went  down,  both 
into  the  ivater,"  and  came  "  ttp  out  of  the  water" — that 
^'  Jesus,  when  he  was  baptized,  tvent  up  straightway  out  of 
the  water" — and  that  the  apostle,  in  speaking  of  being 
baptized  into  Christ,  says,  "  We  are  buried  Avith  him  by 
baptism  into  death."  The  result  was  a  perfect  satisfac- 
tion in  his  own  mind,  that  immersion,  and  the  immersion 
of  believers  only,  was  the  baptism  of  the  Bible. 

Being  convinced  that  he  had  not  been  baptized  in  the 
Scriptural  sense  of  the  ordinance,  he  left  home  one  evening 
to  confer  with  his  brother  Trefethren  ^  on  the  subject ;  and, 
strange  to  tell,  they  met  on  the  way,  each  going  to  the  other 
with  the  same  errand.  The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  recognized 
in  this  movement,  and  on  laying  it  before  their  brethren  at 
the  next  meeting,  they  were  still  more  surprised  to  find 
that  all  had  been  led  by  the  same  spirit,  and  were  of  the 
same  mind.  To  them  it  could  have  been  said,  "  One  is 
your  Master,  even  Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren."  Soon 
after  this,  William  Hooper  was  ordained  at  Berwick, 
Maine,  as  a  Baptist  minister,  and  at  the  close  of  the  ser- 
vices he  baptized  Randall  and  three  others  at  Great  Falls, 
who  united  with  the  Baptist  church  in  Berwick. 

Jlandall's  cup  of  joy  was  now  full,  save  the  annoyance 
of  his  convictions  to  enter  the  ministry.  The  great  sanc- 
tity of  the  work,  and  his  own  insufficiency,  led  him  to 
dismiss  the  subject  Avhenever  he  could.  There  were  times, 
however,  when  the  love  of  Christ,  and  his  view  of  the  sin- 
ner's end,  almost  extorted  from  him  a  consent  to  go  and 

■*  Trefethren  was  Randall's  confidential  friend,  who  assisted  him  in 
establishing  the  social  meeting,  and  left  the  church  at  the  same  time 
with  himself,  and  afterwards  settled  in  Maine,  and  became  a  minister  of 
the  gospel. 


DECIDES  TO    PREACH.  41 

iell  the  world  that  salvation  had  been  provided,  free  and 
full.  The  struggle  was  long  and  obstinate.  So  unworthy 
and  incompetent  did  he  feel,  that  he  even  dared  to  pray 
that  God  would  take  him  out  of  the  world,  rather  than 
call  him  into  the  ministry.  The  more  he  prayed,  th« 
more  loud  seemed  th<;  call,  ''  Go  thorn  and  preach  the 
kingdom  of  God."  At  the  close  of  one  of  their  social 
ra.eetings,  it  was  said  to  him,  "  Brother  Randall,  I  am  tired 
of  hearing  you  read  old  sermons  ;  if  you  will  not  preach 
to  us,  do  leave  off  reading  old  sermons  and  read  the  Bible." 
He  concluded  to  accept  the  advice,  and  at  the  next  meet- 
ing comnaenced  reading  the  13th  chapter  of  John  :  "  Now, 
before  the  feast  of  the  passover,  when  Jesus  knew  that  his 
hour  Avas  come  that  he  should  depart  out  of  this  world 
unto  the  Father,  having  loved  his  own  which  were  in  the 
world,  he  loved  them  unto  the  end,"  Here  he  paused,  for 
the  love  of  Jesus  always  filled  his  soul  with  praise.  As 
he  gave  expression  to  his  feelings,  one  remark  prepared 
the  way  for  another,  and  he  proceeded  till  the  thought  oc- 
curred to  him  that  he  was  preaching^  when  he  immediately 
sat  doAvn.  The  next  day  it  was  said,  "  Randall  preached 
last  night,"  and  he  was  greatly  chagrined  that  he  had 
given  any  occasion  for  such  a  report.  He  could  only  say 
with  Jeremiah,  "  O  Lord,  *  *  *  *  thou  art  stronger 
than  I,  and  hast  prevailed."  At  the  next  meeting  he  took 
a  volume  of  Dr.  "Watts'  Sermons,  and,  on  rising  to  read, 
he  was  in  awful  suspense  for  a  moment,  whether  to  take 
the  Bible  or  the  serm.ons.  Not  daring  to  trust  himself 
again,  he  took  the  sermons,  and,  "  As  I  read,"  says  he, 
"  I  began  to  die  ;  and  the  more  I  read,  the  more  I  felt  my 
life  departing,  till  I  dared  not  read  another  line,  lest  the 
Lord  should  leave  me  to  hardness  of  heart  and  blindness 
of  mind."  He  threw  down  his  book,  confessed  his  convic- 
tions of  duty  to  preach,  and  his  disobedience  ;  and  then 
said,  "  Now,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  am  resolved  to  be 
obedient,  and  give  myself  up  to  his  service  as  long  as  I 
live."  This  was  a  manly  position,  and  the  next  day  he 
4* 


42  RANDALL   AND    HIS    CO-LABORERS. 

made  a  covenant  with  the  Lord,  and  a  consecration  of 
himself  and  his  all  upon  the  altar  of  Christ ;  a  written  copy 
of  which  he  retained. 

He  Avas  now  strong  in  the  spirit,  and  bold  in  his  Mas- 
ter's service,  preaching  almost  every  day  or  evening  for 
several  weeks.  In  the  spring  of  1777,  the  power  of  God 
came  down,  thirty  were  converted,  and  so  marvellous  Avas 
the  work  that,  for  awhile,  every  opposing  influence  Avas 
hushed.  New  Castle  had  never  Avitnessed  such  days  be- 
fore. A  spirit  of  persecution  soon  arose,  and  Randall  was 
its  principal  victim.  He  suffered  all  that  scandalous  lan- 
guage could  inflict,  and  more  than  once  A\'as  his  life  not 
only  threatened,  but  greatly  endangered.  A  brick,  thrown 
by  an  unseen  hand,  brushed  the  hair  of  his  liead  as  it 
passed.  It  Avas  supposed  that  he  would  go  to  an  appoint- 
ment by  a  certain  gate,  and  a  company  gathering  there 
with  "  a  bucket  of  tar  and  a  handkerchief  of  feathers," 
awaited  his  arrival.  Being  informed  that  he  had  gone  an- 
other Avay,  they  vented  their  fury  upon  the  post  of  the  gate, 
which  long  stood  as  the  monument  of  their  persecuting 

folly. 

He  Avas  once  invited  to  preach  in  Kittery,  Maine,  and 
the  day  before  his  appointed  meeting,  all  kinds  of  rumors 
Avere  afloat.  In  the  evening  a  friend  came  to  inform  him 
that  the  toAvn  was  in  uproar,  the  people  threatened  to  mob 
him,  and  he  could  not  go  in  safety.  He  Avas  even  told 
that  his  enemies  had  been  round  with  a  drum,  beating  for 
volunteers  to  execute  the  threat,  and  that  forty  were 
pledged  to  the  dastardly  work,  with  the  promise  of  a  bar- 
rel of  rum,  if  they  would  kill  him.  Randall's  purpose  was 
fixed,  and,  Avith  his  usual  firmness,  he  aptly  said,  "  Ah  ! 
that  is  the  Devil's  old  regiment ;  he  once  raised  forty  men 
to  kill  brother  Paul,  but  he  missed  it,  and  I  believe  he 
will  be  disappointed  now.  God  calls,  and  I  must  go." 
He  passed  the  tavern,  where  the  mob  was  carousing,  Avith- 
out  disturbance  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  commenced  the 
meeting  than  they  appeared  before  the  door  and  formed  a 


SETTLES   IN   NEW   DURHAM.  43 

line.  Randall  says,  "  As  soon  as  I  saw  them  I  felt  a  most 
blessed  degree  of  the  power  of  God ;"  and  waxing  bold, 
he  preached  the  Avord  without  fear.  The  clouds  now  be- 
gan to  gather,  the  lightnings  flashed  and  the  thunder  roll- 
ed, so  that  while  the  blessed  Spirit  warmed  the  hearts  of 
those  within,  a  drenching  shower  cooled  the  zeal  of  those 
without.  After  meeting  he  went  out  and  spoke  with  the 
men  at  the  door,  and  "  not  one  of  them  gave  him  an  un- 
handsome word."  The  mob  having  retired,  Randall  left 
between  sunset  and  dark  to  attend  an  evening  appointment ; 
and  as  the  road  passed  through  a  thicket  of  pine  bushes, 
he  saw  them  in  his  pathway,  "  standing  tAvo  abreast." 
With  unchecked  speed  he  rode  on.  As  he  approached, 
they  opened  to  the  right  and  left ;  "  and,  as  he  passed 
through,  they  bowed  and  wished  him  good  night."  "  This 
Avas  all  the  mobbing  I  received,"  says  Randall,  and  he  adds, 
"  O  the  infinite  goodness  of  God  to  me,  unworthy  as  I  am^" 
The  fame  of  Randall  was  now  spread  into  adjacent  towns, 
and  by  invitation  he  Avent  to  New  Durham,  attending  sev- 
eral meetings  on  the  way  in  Barrington.  He  says,  "  It 
was  a  Avonderful  journey.  Wherever  I  went,  my  blessed 
Master  Avas  with  me.  The  power  of  God  fell  on  old  and 
young  ;  sinners  were  crying  for  mercy,  and  many  were 
rejoicing  in  the  Lord."  He  was  urged  to  settle  in  Ncav 
Durham,  and,  at  his  next  visit  in  the  autumn,  he  told  the 
people  that  he  was  ready  to  settle  there  if  he  could  knoAV 
that  "  it  Avas  the  Avill  of  the  Lord."  A  day  of  fasting  and 
prayer  Avas  observed,  to  inquire  of  the  Lord  respecting  it, 
after  which  all  doubts  Avere  removed.  The  Committee 
agreed  to  provide  him  Avith  a  house,  and  defray  the  ex- 
pense of  his  removal ;  but  their  propositions  for  his  sei'- 
vices  and  support,  Randall  could  not  accept,  for  his  commis- 
sion was,  "  As  ye  go,  preach."  On  the  26th  of  March, 
1778,  he  arrived  with  his  family  in  New  Durham,^  which 
was  ever  afterwards  his  earthly  home. 

*  New  Durham  was  then  a  comparatively  new  township,   with  about 
three  hundred  inhabitants.     It  is  situated  in  Strafford  County,  twenty- 


44  RANDALL   AND    iilS    COLABOnERS. 

As  Randall  prosecuted  his  mission,  the  divine  blessing 
attended  his  labors,  especially  in  Gilmanton,  Loudon  and 
Cantcrburys,  Avhere  many  were  brought  to  rejoice  in  the 
Lord.  Pie  travelled  much,  preached  often,  and  was  never 
more  happy  than  when  presenting  the  love  of  Christ  to 
dying  men„  He  confidently  affirmed  that  God  was  "  not 
willing  that  any  should  perish  " — that  in  the  great  plan  of 
redemption,  it  was  his  pleasure  that  Jesus  "  should  taste 
death  for  every  man."  He  therefore  invited  and  urged 
all  to  come  and  partake  of  the  gospel  feast,  assuring  them 
that  they  might  if  they  tvoulcl.  Assisting  grace-,  he  said, 
is  freely  offered  to  all,  since  "  God  is  no  respecter  of  pei'' 
sons,"  and  if  men  fail  to  secure  eternal  life,  it  is  because 
they  luill  not  come  to  Christ.  He  exhorted  saints  to 
perseverance,  in  the  language  of  the  apostle,  "let  liimthat 
thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  These  were 
rpt  only  new,  but  precious  truths  with  the  people,  and  they 
•'  heard  him  gladly." 

Randall  did  not  often  meet  with  his  Baptist  brethren, 
either  of  the  church  or  the  ministry,  as  the  ripened  har- 
vest called  him  into  other  fields  of  labor.  Hence,  he  was 
not  aware  of  teaching  doctrines  different  from  those  of  his 
brethren.  Indeed,  there  seems  to  have  been  little  said 
about  the  jieculiar  doctrines  of  Calvinism,  by  the  New 
Hampshire  Baptists  with  whom  Randall  associated.  They 
were  a  spiritual,  zealous,  though  despised  people.  But 
early  in  1779,  he  was  unexpectedly  called  upon  in  a  public 
assembly,  by  one  of  the  fathers  in  the  ministry,  for  the 
reason  Avhy  he  did  not  preach  the  doctrine  of  election  a.s 
Calvin  held  it,  "  Because  I  do  not  believe  it,"  was  his 
characteristic  reply.  A  long  and  earnest  discussion  en- 
sued, which  only  confirmed  each  in  his  previous  belief. 
Findinsr  himself   at  variance  with  some  of  the   leading 


five  miles  north-west  of  Dover,  and  ten  miles  from  the  boundarj'  line  of 
Maine.  A  Congi-egational  church  had  been  organized  there,  and  a  min- 
ister settled,  but  for  three  j'ears  the  people  had  been  without  any  minis- 
terial labor. 


CALVINISTIC    CONTROVERSY.  45 

ministers,  Randall  now  studied  the  Scriptures  with  in- 
creasing interest,  resolved,  not  only  to  knoAv  what  the  Bi- 
ble taught,  but  to  believe  it,  the  opinion  of  his  best  friends 
to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  He  compared  the  sev- 
eral doctrines  with  each  other,  perceived  their  relations, 
and  rejoiced  in  their  harmony.  It  may  be  said  that  he 
now  began  the  systematic  study  of  Biblical  Theology. 
He  was  conscious  of  doing  the  will  of  God,  so  far  as  he 
imderstood  it,  and  could,  therefore,  claim  the  promise  to 
such,  "  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine."  He  became  con- 
firmed in  his  cherished  views  of  "  free  salvation,"  as  of- 
fered to  man,  and  "  freeAvill"  on  the  part  of  man  to  accept 
it. 

The  crisis  was  approaching.  In  June,  1779,  a  meeting 
was  appointed  at  Lower  Grilmanton,  and  Randall  was  sum- 
moned to  answer  for  his  errors  before  a  public  assembly. 
The  debate  continued  the  greater  part  of  two  days,  and 
his  position  reminds  us  of  Luther  before  the  Diet  at 
"Worms,  or  of  Paul's  defence  before  Agrippa.  At  the  close 
of  the  second  day,  the  minister  who  had  conducted  the  ar- 
gument in  behalf  of  the  Calvinists,  arose  and  made  this 
public  declaration  :  "J  have  no  fellowship  ivith  hr  other 
Randall^  in  his  principles."  Mr.  Randall,  stepping  upon 
a  seat,  said,  "  It  makes  no  odds  with  me  who  disowns  me, 
so  long  as  I  know  that  the  Lord  owns  me."  ^  Soon  after 
this,  another  public  disputation  Avas  held  in  Madbury,  but, 
standing  upon  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  Randall  was  im- 
movable. 

These  discussions  only  widened  the  breach.      The  be- 

^  This  meeting  was  in  the  Baptist  house  ;  the  church  there  having 
been  organized  in  1773.  Two  of  its  members,  Edward  Lock  and  Samuel 
Weeks,  both  licensed  preachers,  soon  after  left  and  associated  with  Ran- 
dall. The  church  struggled  on  for  thirty  years,  and  lost  its  visibility.  In 
1818,  another  Calvinistic  Baptist  church  was  organized  there,  which  also 
became  extinct ;  and  in  1859,  just  eighty  years  after  this  discussion,  a 
Freewill  Baptist  church  of  23  members  was  organized,  and  now  wor- 
ships on  the  very  site  where  Randall  was  tried  for  heresy  and  virtually 
disowned. 


46  RANDALL    AND    HIS    CO-LABOKERS. 

lievers  in  high  Calvinism,  and  such  were  most  of  the  Bap- 
tists when  compelled  to  take  their  position,  had  no  sympa- 
thy with  the  advocates  of  free  grace,  and  "  frecAvill."  They 
did  not  formally  expel  them  from  their  communion,  but 
the  public  position  of  the  ministry  against  them  was  a 
practical  separation.  Randall  Avas  left  by  the  denomina- 
tion, but  he  stood  not  alone.  The  presence  and  the  ap- 
proval of  God,  he  never  more  fully  enjoyed.  The  public 
discussions  had  aAvakened  a  spirit  of  inquiry,  and  all  Averc 
searching  the  Scriptures  for  truth.  The  Loudon  and  Can- 
terbury church  f Baptist]  discarded  the  doctrines  of  Cal- 
vinism about  the  time  of  the  Gilmanton  discussion.  Ed- 
Avard  Lock  Avas  preaching  there  at  the  time,  and  received 
ordination,  the  March  folloAving.  In  August,  1779,  a 
branch  of  the  BerAvick  church,  numbering  forty  members, 
and  located  at  CroAATi  Point  in  Barrington,  [noAv  Straf- 
ford] Avas  organized  as  an  independent  church.  'Rev.  To- 
sier  Lord  became  its  pastor,  and  both  church  and  minister 
AA'-ere  anti-Calvinistic.  Randall  Avished  to  unite  Avith  this 
free  church,  and  applied  to  the  BerAvick  church  for  a  letter 
of  dismission  ;  but  no  notice  Avas  taken  of  his  request, 
and  in  March  he  united  without  a  letter. 

He  had  noAv  been  preaching  for  more  than  three  years, 
and  on  tlie  fifth  of  April,  1780,  by  request  of  many  of  his 
tovA^nsmen  and  the  Barrington  church,  he  Avas  publicly  or- 
diiined  at  Ncaa'^  Durham,  as  an  cA^angelist.  The  sermon 
Avas  preached  by  Rev.  Tosier  Lord,  avIio  also  gave  the 
charge  ;  the  hand  of  felloAvship  Avas  giA^cn  by  Rev.  P^d- 
ward  Lock.  Ruling  Elder  John  Shepherd  Avas  present, 
and  is  knoAA'n  to  liaAC  taken  some  part  in  the  ordination 
services. 

Randall  Avas  a  man  of  medium  size,  or  a  little  beloAA', 
erect  and  gentlemanly  in  his  appearance.  His  featui'cs 
Avere  sharp,  his  eyes  of  a  hazel  color,  and  the  general  ex- 
pression of  his  countenance  Avas  graA'C  and  dignified.  His 
deep  piety  and  fervent  spirit  gave  a  characteristic  sw«e«t- 
ness  to  the  tones  of  his  voice,  and  he  usually  Avept  as  Ih' 


TOSIER   LOUD,  47 

preacliecT.  His  gestures  were  few,  and,  as  a  speaker,  he 
was  calm,  argumentative,  and  very  impressive.  His  per- 
ception was  great  and  his  memorj  strong.  He  Avas  some- 
what nervous  in  temperament,  quite  sanguine  in  his  opin- 
ions, very  conscientious  in  what  he  thought  Avas  right,  and 
his  reproofs  Avere  often  administered  Avith  cutting  severity. 
He  had  little  patience  Avith  the  fashions  of  the  AA^orld,  and 
a  spirit  of  avarice  he  could  not  endure.  There  AA^ere  other 
men  of  more  extensive  reading,  but  feAV  of  keener  obser- 
vation, or  greater  reflection.  He  studied  the  works  of 
men  and  the  creations  of  God,  the  Avays  of  men  and  the 
providences  of  God,  the  books  of  men  and  the  Avord  of 
God.  But  he  Avas  emphatically,  homo  unius  libri — "  a 
man  of  one  book" — and  that  AA'as  the  Bible. 

From  this  biographical  sketch  of  Randall's  early  life 
and  labors,  AA'^e  might  proceed  at  once  to  his  more  public 
career,  in  deA'eloping  the  elements  of  the  denomination. 
But  there  Avere  other  men  whose  co-operation  Avith  him 
Avas  of  vast  importance  ;  and  their  introduction  to  the 
reader  Avill  here  be  approved. 

TosiER  Lord  Avas  born  in  Berwick,  Maine,  in  1744. 
He  experienced  religion  in  1773,  and  in  July  united  Avitli 
the  Baptist  church  in  Sanford.  In  December  folloAving  he 
Avas  licensed  to  preach,  and  the  next  year,  at  his  sugges- 
tion, a  church  Avas  organized  at  Lebanon,  A\diei"e  he  Avas 
ordained  in  October,  1776,  by  Dr.  Samuel  Shepherd  and 
others.  In  the  autumn  of  1779  he  took  the  pastoral 
charge  of  the  free  church  in  Barrington,  [now  Strafford] 
N.  H.,andthe  kindness  of  the  people  at  once  proA'idcd 
him  Avith  a  home,  Avhich  Avas,  perhaps,  the  first  parsonage 
voluntarily  given  in  the  State.  But  he  did  not  long  enjoy 
it.  A  revival  xmder  his  labors  in  Shapleigh,  Me.,  [now 
Acton]  called  him  to  that  place,  some  tAventy  miles  dis- 
tant. His  sympathies  AA'ere  Avith  the  Strafford  church  on 
the  side  of  free  sentiments,  and  he  continued  to  preach 
there  occasionally  for  some  years,  but  his  home  AA^as  in 
Acton.     He  Avas  Eandall's  pastor  at  the  time  of  his  ordi- 


48  RANDALL   AND    HIS    CO-LABORERS. 

nation,  and  not  only  preached  the  sermon,  but  gave  the 
charge.  "  He  was  not  a  learned  man,"  says  one^  Avho  sat 
under  his  ministry  for  ten  years,  "  but  one  of  the  most 
powerful  preachers  I  ever  heard."  There  was  not  a  pul- 
sation of  his  noble  heart  that  beat  in  sympathy  wilh  close 
communion,  or  the  Calvinism  of  his  day  ;  but  for  some 
reason,  noAV  unknown,  he  did  not  see  fit  to  unite  in  the  or- 
ganized efforts  of  the  churches,  and  was  not  formally 
counted  in  the  denomination.  After  living  ten  years  in 
Acton,  and  about  as  long  in  Albany,  N.  H.,  he  removed 
to  Athens,  Me.,  in  1800,  and  continued  to  preach  free  doc- 
trines till  disabled  by  infirmities  about  two  years  before  his 
death,  which  was  in  March,  1830. 

Edward  Lock  was  born  in  Rye,  N.  H.,  in  1742.  He 
removed  to  Gilmanton  in  the  early  settlement  of  that  town, 
and  united  with  the  Baptist  church  in  1775.  Two  years 
after  he  received  license  to  preach,  and  his  labors  were 
mostly  with  a  church  soon  gathered  in  the  adjoining  towns 
of  Loudon  and  Canterbury.  Lock  was  never  a  Calvinist, 
neither  was  the  church  with  which  he  preached.  In  De- 
cember, 1779,  he  and  others  expressed  before  the  Gilman- 
ton church  their  dissent  from  the  articles  of  faith,  and 
requested  dismission  to  unite  with  the  free  church  in  Lou- 
don and  Canterbury.  A  council  was  called,  not  to  consid- 
er this  request  only,  but  one  from  the  last  named  church, 
asking  for  his  ordination.  Tliree  churches  responded,  and 
on  the  16th  of  February,  1780,  a  majority  "  not  only  refused 
to  ordain  him,  but  withdrew  fellowship  from  him.  Upon 
this  Elder  Lord  replied  : — [Tosier  Lord  was  one  of  the 
council]  '  If  you  withdraw  fellowship  from  Mr.  Lock,  you 
do  from  me  also,  for  I  am  of  the  same  belief.'  "  ^  The  de- 
cision was,  "  Edioard  Lock  has  departed  from  the  true 
faith.,  and  ought  to  confess  his  error  and  return."  ^  He 
could  not  do  this  as  a  conscientious  man,  and  so  here  closed 
his  connection  with  the  Calvinistic  Baptists.     A  few  Aveeks 

^  Ralph  Farnham.  *  History  of  Shapleigh,  p.  31. 

9  History  of  Gilmanton,  p.  200. 


JOHN   SHEPHERD.  49 

after  this  he  received  ordination  at  the  hands  of  Lord  and 
a  lay  brother,  and  became  a  member  of  the  Loudon  and 
Canterbury  church,  and  for  tAvo  years  was  a  zealous  and 
efficient  advocate  of  free  doctrines.  He  gave  the  hand  of 
fellowship  at  Randall's  ordination,  and  his  last  days  were 
spent  in  Maine,  where  he  became  an  extensive  landholder. 

John  Shepherd  was  born  in  Epping,  N.  H.,  in  1754, 
and  was  a  nephew  of  Dr.  Samuel  Shepherd,  of  Brentwood, 
the  distinguished  Baptist  minister.  He  removed  to  Gil- 
manton  when  twenty  years  of  age,  and  not  only  united 
Avith  the  church  there,  but  left  it  at  the  same  time  with 
Edward  Lock,  and  for  the  same  reasons.  He  was  not  a 
public  speaker,  otherwise  than  a  most  powerful  exhorter, 
but  was  a  public  man,  having  repeatedly  held  all  the  im- 
portant offices  in  town,  and  labored  long  as  a  Ruling 
Elder. 

Says  a  friend  i"  of  more  than  fifty  years'  acquaintance 
with  him,  "  Esquire  Shepherd  was  a  strong-minded  man, 
and  a  leader,  but  given  to  the  marvellous."  He  claimed 
to  have  received  from  Heaven  the  entire  "systein"  of 
church  polity,  on  which  the  denomination  was  afterwards 
founded  ;  and  caused  this  claim  to  be  published  ^^  to  the 
world.  Lock  and  Lord  were  his  confidential  friends,  and 
never  were  three  men  bound  to  each  other  by  stronger  ties 
of  kindred  faith  and  feeling.  Together  had  they  labored 
in  the  Baptist  cause,  and  together  had  they  sympathized, 
Avhen  required  to  hush  every  expressive  thought  of  free 
grace  and  free  wiU.  It  was  the  last  of  March,  1780^  that 
they  were  in  consultation,  desirous  of  doing  something  for 
Christ  worthy  the  name  of  an  effort.  But  what,  and  how  ? 
were  the  questions.  To  find  an  answer,  they  repaired  to 
an  unoccupied  house  in  Loudon,  where  they  locked  them- 
selves up  against  all  intruders,  and  spent  a  week  in  "  fasting 
and  prayer,  and  in  seeking  the  will  of  the  Lord."  Shep^ 
herd's  plan  was  considered,  modified  and  reduced  to  writ- 
ing ;  and  he  claimed  that  the  Freewill  Baptist  denomina- 

10  Rev.  Peter  Clark.  "  History  of  Gilmanton,  p.  245. 

5 


50  RANDALL   AND   HIS   CO-LABORERS, 

tion  was  then  and  there  founded.  This  claim  was  never 
acknowledged,  and  it  is  now  denied  for  the  following  rea- 
sons :  First,  There  was  no  organization  attempted  by 
these  men,  and  none  by  others,  that  can  be  traced  to  that 
interview.  Second,  The  two  churches  under  the  care  of 
Lord  and  Lock  (and  they  Avere  the  only  Free  Baptist 
churches  at  the  time) ,  both  lost  their  visibility  two  years 
afterwards.  Third,  Lord  was  never  identified  with  the 
denomination  in  the  union  of  the  churches,  and  Lock  and 
Shepherd  were  not  tiE  twelve  years  afterwards. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  influence  of  that  meeting 
beyond  themselves,  it  was  doubtless  a  very  precious  season 
to  that  trio  of  worshippers.  Lock  Avas  there  ordained  as 
Teaching  Elder,  and  Shepherd  was  ordained  as  Ruling 
Elder,  and  held  his  credentials  for  sixty-four  years. 

Pelatiah  Tinglet  was  born  in  Attleborough,  Mass.-, 
about  the  year  1735.  He  experienced  religion  when  six- 
teen, graduated  at  Yale  CoUege  in  1761,  and  studied  the- 
ology two  years.  He  entered  the  ministry  of  the  "  standing 
order,"  sadly  backslidden  in  heart,  and,  after  preaching  a 
year  or  more  in  Gorham,  Maine,  as  a  candidate,  he  de- 
clined an  invitation  of  the  town  to  settle  there  in  1766, 
While  reading  his  sermon  one  warm  summer's  day  at 
New  Market,  N.  H,,  his  "  notes "  were  blown  from  the 
desk.  This  circumstance  suggested  the  importance  O'f 
grace  in  the  heart,  as  more  reliable  than  a  manuscript  on 
the  desk.  As  he  thought  upon  the  subject,  he  became 
deeply  convicted  of  his  spiritual  destitution,  and,  by  ear- 
nest prayer  and  entire  consecration,  sought  for  a  deeper 
work  of  grace.  Nor  did  he  seek  in  vain.  The  fuU  bless- 
ings of  the  gospel  he  soon  experienced,  and  greatly  rejoiced 
in  the  Christian's  hope.  His  unhesitating  compliance 
with  the  teachings  of  the  word  and  the  Spirit,  soon  led 
him  to  the  conclusion  that  sprinkling  Avas  not  baptism  ; 
and  living  in  Sanford,  Maine,  in  1772,  when  a  Baptist 
church  was  there  organized,  he  became  one  of  its  first 
members. 


SAHUEL   WEEKS.  51 

The  subject  of  his  ordination  was  submitted  to  a  coun- 
cil from  five  churches,  and,  after  a  satisfactory  examina- 
tion, he  was  ordained  at  Sanford,  October  21,  1772,  on  a 
large  flat  rock  in  the  open  air.  The  sermon  and  charge  were 
given  by  Eld.  Samuel  Shepherd,  and  the  hand  of  fellow- 
ship by  Eld.  Hovey.  "  The  Teaching  Elders  and  two  of 
the  private  brethren  then  laid  on  their  hands,  and  one  of 
them  prayed."  He  continued  as  pastor  of  the  church  for 
several  years,  and  in  1775  and '76,  frequently  preached 
and  baptized  in  Gilmanton,  N.  H. 

When  the  doctrine  of  a  general  atonement  was  called  in 
•question,  he  took  his  position  on  the  si-de  of  free  senti- 
aients.  This  cut  him  off  from  sympathy  and  connection 
with  the  Calvinists,  and  brought  him  into  stUl  closer 
union  with  Randall,  Lord  and  Lock.  He  lived  about 
twenty  miles  from  Randall,  and  seconded  his  efforts  with 
great  success.  His  learning  and  meekness  enabled  him  to 
render  essential  service,  in  maturing  the  plan  of  organiza- 
tion. He  was  a  man  of  short  prayers, ^^  short  sermons, 
and  short  speeches  ;  and  his  taciturnity  was  often  broken 
by  the  most  vivid  flashes  of  wit,  and  condensed  expressions 
of  searching  truth  and  good  common  sense. 

Samuel  Weeks  was  born  in  Greenland,  N.  H.,  in 
1746.  He  settled  in  Gilmanton  in  1772,  experienced  re- 
ligion about  that  time,  and  the  next  year  was  one  of  the 
original  members  and  first  clerk  of  the  Baptist  church  in 
that  town.  On  the  same  day  with  Lock,  in  1777,  he  was 
licensed  "to  go  forth  and  declare  a  proclamation  of  peace 
and  pardon,  through  a  risen  Saviour,  to  a  dying  world." 
June  the  15th,  1780,  just  fifteen  days  before  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  New  Durham  church,  he  was  ordained  as  pas- 
tor of  his  own  church.     He  believed  in  a  general  atonement 

'-  It  is  said  that  at  a  Yearly  Meeting,  when  peculiar  responsibilities 
•were  about  to  be  assvmied,  Tingley  was  asked  to  lead  in  prayer.  Falling 
wpon  his  knees,  he  said,  "  O  Lord,  teach  us,  each  to  feel  the  need  of  thy 
grace,  and  seek  it ;  to  know  thy  will,  and  do  it ;  to  find  our  place,  and 
keep  it.    AmeiL.'" 


52  RANDALL   AND    HIS    CO-LABORERS. 

and  the  freedom  of  the  will ;'  and,  true  to  his  principles, 
we  find  him,  eight  months  after  his  ordination,  assisting 
Randall  in  the  organization  of  a  free  church  in  Tamworth. 
He  was  strong  in  argument,  and  his  assaults  upon  Hyper- 
Calvinism  were  oftentimes  irresistible.  Finding  that  a 
majority  of  the  church  was  not  with  him  in  doctrine,  he 
soon  removed  to  East  Parsonsfield,  Maine,  where  his  days 
were  ended. 

Daniel  Hibbard,  of  Maine,  was  early  associated  with 
the  Baptists,  and  his  name  appears  among  their  first  or- 
dained ministers.  Whatever  were  the  facts  of  his  ordina- 
tion, its  validity  seems  to  have  been  called  in  question, 
and  at  the  first  Quarterly  Meeting  in  New  Durham,  it 
was  voted  to  give  him  the  following  paper  : 

"  This  certifieth  that  Eld.  Daniel  Hibbard  is  considered, 
by  virtue  of  his  former  ordination,  a  regular  ordained 
Elder." 

The  precise  time  when  he  identified  himself  with  Ran- 
dall, Tingley  and  others,  is  now  unknown  ;  but  he  was 
one  of  the  members  of  the  Gray  and  New  Gloucester 
church,  at  the  time  of  its  organization  in  1782,  and  for 
onany  years  afterwards  was  one  of  the  most  active  men  in 
the  New  Connection. 

These  seven  men — Randall,  Lord,  Lock,  Shepherd, 
Tingley,  "Wieeks  and  Hibbard — were  strong-minded,  ener- 
getic speakers.  Tingley  was  thoroughly  educated,  and 
all  of  them,  save  Shepherd,  had  been  licensed,  and  four  of 
them  ordained,  by  the  Baptists.  Lord,  Lock,  Shepherd, 
Tingley  and  Weeks,  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  more 
than  fourscore  years  ;  and  the  entire  seven  were  prominent 
men,  as  the  following  pages  will  show. 


THE   KEW  lyURHAM   CHURCH,  53 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  FIRST  CHURCHES, 

FROM  1780  TO  1783. 

The  New  Durham  Church  —  Randall's  Enlightenment  —  Churches  at 
Hollis — Acton — Tamworth — and  North  Strafford — ^Randall's  Journey 
to  Maine — Churches  at  "Woolwich,  Georgetown,  Westport  and  Bris- 
tol— at  Gorham,  Scarborough  and  Durham — One  at  Gray  and  New 
Gloucester — Maine  Churches — Shakers — Trials  in  New  Durham — 
Weeks  in  Parsonsfield — Church  there — ^Randall  in  Maine. 

Benjamin  Randall  had  the  true  spirit  of  the  missionary, 
that  kept  him  ever  upon  the  alert,  frequently  travelling 
and  preaching  in  distant  places.  United  with  this  vs^as 
the  watchful  spirit  of  the  faithful  pastor.  His  labors 
abroad  never  abated  his  interest  at  home.  By  early  rising 
and  late  retiring,  he  would  redeem  time  enough  from  his 
customers  (he  was  now  a  tailor  by  trade) ,  to  leave  his 
bench,  and  go  out  a  few  hours  every  week  and  hold  relig- 
ious service  with  his  neighbors  and  townsmen,  in  addition 
to  his  Sabbath  labors.  "God  blessed  his  efforts,  and  sev- 
eral were  converted.  Having  stood  as  inquirers  after 
truth,  through  the  doctrinal  discussions  of  the  previous 
year,  they  were  now,  1780,  decidedly  with  their  minister, 
though  he  was  regarded  as  a  heretic  by  many. 

A  fsAv  desired  to  be  baptized  and  embodied  as  a  church. 
They  met  to  confer  on  the  subject,  and  to  ask  wisdom  of 
God.  It  was  agreed  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  were  the 
only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  but  all  were  of  the  opinion 
that  it  would  be  well  to  have  some  written  articles,  ex- 
pressive of  their  understanding  of  the  Bible,  and  a  Cove- 
nant by  which  they  would  agree  to  walk.  Randall  was 
5* 


54  THE   FIRST   CHURCHES.  [1780. 

appointed  to  draft  such  Articles  and  Covenant,  and  June 
30tti,  1780,  tliey  met  again.  Thirteen  Articles  of  Faith, 
now  lost,  Avere  presented  and  approved ;  after  "which  the 
Covenant  was  duly  considered  and  adopted.  Benjamin 
Randall,  Robert  Boody,  Nathaniel  Buzzell,  Joseph  Boody, 
Judith  Chartel,  Margery  Boody  and  Mary  Buzzell — four 
males  and  three  females — then   came  forward  and  signed 

THE   COVENANT. 

"  Believing  the  above  Articles  to  be  according  to  Scrip- 
ture, and  necessary  for  the  visible  government  of  the 
■church  of  Christ,  we,  whose  names  are  here  underwritten, 
do  freely  covenant  together  to  walk  according  to  them. 

"  Therefore  we  do  now  declare  that  we  have  given  our- 
selves to  God,  and  do  now  give  ourselves  to  one  another 
in  love  and  fellowship,  and  agree  to  take  the  Scriptures  of 
truth  for  our  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  respecting  our  duty 
to  God,  our  neighbors  and  ourselves. 

"  We  promise  to  practice  all  the  commands  and  ordinan- 
ces of  the  New  Testament  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  so  far  as  they  are,  or  shall  be,  made  known  unto 
us,  by  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  without  which  we  can- 
not attain  to  the  true  knowledge  thereof. 

"  We  do  promise  to  bear  one  another's  burdens,  and  so 
fulfil  the  law  of  love,  which  is  the  law  of  Christ, 

"  We  do  agree  to  give  liberty  for  the  improvement  of  the 
gifts  of  the  brethren  ;  to  keep  up  the  public  worship  of 
God  among  ourselves  ;  and  not  to  forsake  the  assembling 
of  ourselves  together,  as  the  manner  of  some  is. 

"  And  we  also  agree  not  to  receive  any  person  into  fel- 
lowship, except  he  give  a  satisfactory  account  of  a  change 
of  life  and  heart ;  and  shall  also  promise  to  submit  to  the 
order  and  discipline  as  above.  May  God  enable  us  to 
keep  covenant.     Amen." 

In  solemn  prayer  they  then  consecrated  themselves  to 
God,  and  implored  his  blessing  upon  them  as  a  church, 
liittle  did  those  seven  Christians  think,  when  upon  their 


1780.]  EAND all's  enlightenment.  55 

knees  before  God,  covenanting  with  him  and  one  another, 
that  they  were  laying  the  foundation  of  a  new  denomina- 
tion. They  organized  simply  as  a  Baptist  church,  hoping 
that  the  power  of  truth  and  Christian  forbearance,  would 
yet  enable  them  to  work  harmoniously  with  their  Calvin- 
istic  brethren.  Three  weeks  after  their  consecration  as  a 
church,  Randall  and  others  went  to  New  Castle  and  held 
a  few  meetings,  and  five  additional  members  were  there 
received.  September  2d,  others  united,  and  then  did 
they  complete  their  organization,  by  the  choice  of  Benja- 
min Randall  as  Pastor  and  Clerk,  Robert  Boody  as  Dea- 
con, and  Nathaniel  Buzzell  and  Joseph  Boody  as  Ruling 
Elders.  The  Deacon  and  Ruling  Elders  were  then  or- 
dained,^  and  the  next  day  they  sat  down  to  the  Lord's 
supper. 

Soon  after  his  ordination,  Randall  became  embarrassed 
as  to  the  meaning  of  certain  passages  of  Scripture,  often 
cited  as  proof  texts  of  Calvinism.  Honesty  forbade  an 
interpretation  that  did  not  rest  on  good  sense  and  sound 
reasoning  ;  or  that  did  not  harmonize  Avitli  other  Scriptures 
of  undoubted  meaning.  He  could,  therefore,  only  adhere 
to  the  doctrine  so  fully  and  clearly  taught,  that  salvation 
is  freely  oflFered,  and  can  be  freely  accepted  ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  he  frankly  confessed  that  he  did  not  under- 
stand some  of  those  texts  that  were  claimed  to  teach  a 
different  doctrine.  But  this  position  did  not  long  satisfy 
him.  Being  a  teacher  of  religion,  he  felt  the  force  of 
Christ's  inquiry  of  Nicodemus,  "  Art  thou  a  master  of 
Israel,  and  knowest  not  these  things  ?"  For  weeks  he 
pondered  over  the  subject,  by  night  and  by  day,  that  he 
might  "  be  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every  man 

'  This  act  of  the  church  in  ordaining  its  own  officers,  was  no  innovation ; 
for  the  early  New  England  Puritans,  in  opposition  to  episcopal  ordina- 
tion, contended  that  the  authority  to  ordain  was  in  the  church  alone ; 
and  lay  members,  by  A'ote  of  the  church,  have  been  allowed  to  perform 
the  ordination  services  of  their  pastor.  In  a  few  instances  this  has  been 
done,  even  when  ordained  ministers  of  other  churches  were  present. — 
Hutchinson's  His.  of  Mass.,  Vol.  I.,  p.  374,  S^c. 


0-6  THE    FIRST   CHURCHES.  [1780. 

that  asked "  him,  the  reason  of  his  faith,  as  well  as  his 
hope.  He  refrained  from  consulting  books,  for,  in  the 
nieagre  supply  of  that  day,  the  Bible  almost  alone  taught 
a  free  and  full  salvation. 

"  Sometime  in  July,"  he  says,  *'  I  was  in  great  trial 
of  mind  because  of  such  texts,  and,  desiring  solitude,  I 
walked  to  a  remote  place,  and  entered  a  field  of  corn.  My 
soul  was  in  great  agony,  and  I  sat  down  upon  a  rock,  and 
was  praying  that  my  heavenly  Father  would  teach  me. 
All  at  once,  it  seemed  as  if  the  Lord  denied  my  re- 
quest. This  increased  my  trial,  and  I  cried,  '  Lord,  why 
may  I  not  be  taught  ?'  The  answer  was,  '  Because  thou 
hast  too  many  right  hands,  and  right  eyes.'  I  said, 
'  Lord,  what  are  my  right  hands  and  right  eyes  ?'  Then 
it  appeared  to  me  that  they  were  my  old  traditions,  which 
I  still  held,  and  my  old  brethren,  whose  doctrines  and 
opinions  I  had  not  fully  renounced.  I  then  saw  that  I 
was  too  much  encumbered  with  natural  connections,  and 
that  my  heart  needed  much  purifying  and  refining.  I 
said,  '  Lord,  here  I  am,  take  me,  and  do  with  me  as  thou 
wilt.'  " 

Perhaps  a  more  complete  surrender  of  all  upon  the  altar 
of  Christ  was  never  made ;  and  it  is  equally  doubtful 
whether  the  sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  Avas  ever 
more  consciously  experienced.  So  effective  was  the  work, 
that  he  says,  "  I  thought  I  was  going  to  lose  all  that  I 
ever  had,  and  began  to  hold  back.  Something  immedi- 
ately whispered,  saying,  '  didst  thou  not  resign  all  ?'  I 
said,  '  Yea,  Lord,  and  here  I  am.'  The  power  then  in- 
creased in  my  soul,  until  it  stripped  me  of  every  created 
thing,  as  to  my  affections.  I  tried  to  recollect  my  breth- 
ren and  connections,  but  had  no  feeling  save  of  the  awful 
majesty  of  God,  before  whom  I  sunk,  as  it  were,  into 
nothing." 

Happy  man  !  The  sanctifying  power  of  the  great  Jeho- 
vah was  then  overwhelming.  And  while  the  willing  sub- 
ject was  being  stripped  of  self,  and  clothed  with  Christ,  a 


1780.]  CHURCH    IN    HOLLIS.  57 

perfect  calmness  and  solemn  reverence  filled  his  soul. 
The  Bible  was  then  presented  to  his  mind,  with  the  seal  of 
those  difficult  texts  all  unloosed,  and  their  explanation  was 
seen  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  a  general  atonement 
and  universal  call.  When  he  came  to  himself,  so  as  to 
notice  surrounding  things,  he  says,  "  I  was  sitting  on  the 
rock,  all  flowing  with  perspiration,  and  so  weak  that  I 
could  hardly  sit  up.  I  observed  the  sun,  and  found  that  I 
had  been  in  this  exercise,  at  least  an  hour  and  a  half,  and 
whether  in  the  body,  or  out  of  the  body,  I  never  could 
tell." 

This  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  prepared  Randall  for 
his  great  work ;  and,  though  somewhat  remarkable,  the 
account  may  be  received,  on  principles  of  faith  and  reason, 
altogether  philosophical.  He  had  before  him  an  object 
that  engrossed  his  entire  attention — the  reconciling  of 
texts  that  were  apparently  at  variance.  For  this  he  stud- 
ied, and  he  prayed.  More  than  this  he  could  not  do  ;  and 
having  availed  himself  of  all  the  ordinary  facilities  at  his 
command,  he  could  come  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace  and 
ask  for  help,  believing  that  it  would  be  affiarded;  No  man 
of  Christian  experience  will  deny  the  probability  that  the 
Spirit,  under  which  the  Bible  was  written,  will  be  impart- 
ed to  illuminate  him  who  earnestly  seeks  it.  And  the 
degree  of  that  Spirit  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  consecra- 
tion, the  faith,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it  is 
sought. 

This  item  of  experience  .greatly  encourages  a  spirit  of 
entire  consecration,  of  strong  faith  and  persevering  trust ; 
but  it  affords  no  encouragement,  on  the  other  hand,  to  the 
indolent  student,  who  expects  some  revealed  light,  while 
he  neglects  the  use  of  the  natural  means  within  his  reach. 
Let  it  be  remembered  that  God  will  never  do  for  us  what 
he  has  required  us  to  do  for  ourselves. 

It  was  during  this  season  that  Randall  made  his  first 
tour  into  Maine,  and  visited  several  towns  on  the  Saco 
river.    At  Little  Falls  plantation  [afterwards  Phillipsburg, 


58  THE   FIRST  CHURCHES.  |]1780, 

and  noAV  HoUis],  many  believed,  Avere  baptized,  and  a 
church  was  organized.  In  November  a  messenger  "was 
sent  to  New  Durham,  requesting  that  Randall  might  be 
permitted  to  spend  a  portion  of  his  time  there.  To  this 
proposition  the  church  very  generously  consented  ;  but  in 
the  midst  of  his  successful  labors  there  he  could  say,  per- 
secutions and  "  afflictions  abide  me."  Plaving  an  ap- 
pointment to  baptize  at  a  small  mill-pond,  the  own^r 
hastened  to  the  spot,  and  immediately  hoisted  the  gates. 
Finding  himself  disappointed  in  thus  preventing  the  ordi- 
nance, he  next  threw  clubs,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  all ; 
and,  after  the  baptism,  would  have  prostrated  and  perhaps 
killed  the  administrator,  had  not  some  friends  restrained 
his  uplifted  arm. 

A  few  Christians  in  Gorham,  Maine,  hearing  of  the  free 
church  in  New  Durham,  sent  one  of  their  number,  Dea. 
William  Cotton,  to  request  admission  to  their  fellowship. 
The  request  was  so  far  entertained  as  to  send  Randall  and 
Boody  "to  inquire  into  their  principles  and  order."  A 
few  "  New  Light"  Christians  were  there  found,  serving 
God  under  great  trials.  Randall  comforted  them  as  best 
he  could,  preached  several  times,  and  returned  without 
consummating  the  union.  But  Samuel  Thombs  and  John 
Cotton  were  then  converted,  and  commenced  holding  meet- 
ings amid  great  opposition. 

Lock  continued  his  labors  almost  exclusively  with  the 
Loudon  and  Canterbuiy  church,  which  enjoyed  considera- 
ble prosperity.  Lord  not  only  preached  in  Avhat  is  now 
StraiFord,  during  the  summer,  but  in  Shapleigh  [now  Ac- 
ton], Maine,  where  about  fifty  were  converted,  and  a 
church  of  thirty  members  Avas  organized  near  Milton  Mills. 
Says  one  of  his  converts  in  that  reformation — Ralph  Farn- 
ham^ — "Eld.  Lord   came   to   this   town   in    1780,   and 

2  The  above  recollections  of  the  late  Ralph  Farnham  were  received 
from  him  in  1860,  when  he  was  1G4  years  of  age,  and  just  after  his  return 
from  Boston,  where  he  was  honored  as  the  last  of  the  Bunker  Hill  sur- 
vivors.. '•'  The  Dark  Day,"  May  19,  1780,  con-\"icted  him  of  sin,  he  expe- 
rienced religiou  as  above  stated,  and  united  with  the  Freewill  Baptists  in 
J803- 


178 1. J      CIIURCIIES  IK  TAMW'OKTH  AND  STRAFFORD.  59 

preached  here  ten  years,  making  his  home  in  Acton ^  but 
preaching  a  part  of  the  time  in  the  adjoining  to'^vns.  To- 
wards the  latter  part  of  his  ministrations  here,  the  church 
began  to  decline,  and  finally  lost  its  visibility." 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1780  there  were  five  free 
churches,  New  Durham,  Loudon,  and  Strafford  (formerly 
a  part  of  Barrington) ,  in  New  Hampshire  ;  and  Acton 
and  IloUis  in  Maine.  The  New  Durham  church  number- 
ed seventeen,  and  the  one  at  Hollis  about  one  himdred,  or 
one-sixth  of  the  Avhole  population  in  town. 

A  branch  of  the  true  vine  had  taken  root  in  Tamworth, 
N.  H.,  a  sparsely  settled  township  on  the  northern  fron- 
tier, and  early  in  1781  a  request  was  received  at  New 
Durham,  that  the  brethren  there  might  be  embodied  as  a 
church.  Randall  and  Boody  met  with  them  February  26th, 
assisted  by  "  Eld.  Samuel  Weeks  of  Gilmanton,  who,  by 
the  providence  of  God,  was  travelling  that  way."  A 
church  of  eight  members  was  then  organized,  and  a  Dea- 
con ordained.  Nor  did  the  living  vine  flourish  in  that 
town  alone.  In  many  places  along  the  foot  of  the  White 
Mountain  range,  pioneer  settlers  sought  the  blessings  of 
salvation,  and  soon  the  wilderness  began  to  blossom,  and 
the  fruits  of  saving  grace  hung  in  rich  clusters  up  and 
down  those  mountain  sides. 

A  most  glorious  revival  had  been  in  progress  for  some 
time  in  Barrington  [now  North  Strafford],  under  the  la- 
bors of  Randall  and  Lock.  For  a  time  it  swept  almost 
everything  before  it,  and  the  enemies  of  the  cross  gave  up 
all  hope  of  effectual  opposition.  The  result  was,  the  or- 
ganization of  a  church  of  seventy  members  early  in  the 
summer.  Joseph  Boody,  afterwards  its  pastor  for  thirty 
years,  was  one  of  the  converts  and  original  members. 

The  church  at  Crown  Point,  Strafford,  sought  for  occa- 
sional preaching,  as  seen  by  the  following  extract,  dated 
August  1,  and  addressed  to  the  Ncav  Durham  church : 

"  Being  destitute  of  an  administrator,  we  have  voted  to 
request  the  sister  churches  to  send  their  pastor  in  turn,  to. 


60  THE    FIRST    CHUKCHES.  [1781. 

administer  the  ordinances  to  us.  We  propose  that  Loudon 
send  theirs  the  first  1st  day  after  the  first  4th  day  in  Sep- 
tember ;  that  Shapleigh-town  send  theirs  in  October  ; 
New  Durham,  in  November  ;  and  Gilmanton,  in  Decem- 
ber." 

The  New  Durham  church  attended  to  the  request,  and 
the  other  ministers  to  supply,  in  turn,  were  Lock,  Lord 
and  Weeks. 

Monthly  meetings  Avere  now  established  at  New  Dur- 
ham, and  the  observance  of  Free  Communion  and  Wash- 
ing Feet  was  introduced  and  ultimately  adopted.^  The 
first  church  labor  at  New  Dai'ham  was  the  appointment 
of  a  committee,  September  15th,  to  visit  and  admonish  to 
duty  such  members  as  had  "  neglected  to  attend  church 
meetings  and  other  church  orders."  These  visits  Avere 
continued  with  more  or  less  frequency,  always,  at  least, 
once  a  year. 

Randall  Avas  noAV  in  straightened  circumstances  as  to 
duty.  Learning  of  the  spiritual  destitution  in  Maine,  he 
felt  impressed  to  travel  still  farther  into  that  district  than 
he  had  yet  been,  and  tell  the  people  of  God's  great  Ioa'c  in 
providing  salvation  for  the  world.  But  the  journey  seem- 
ed impracticable.  He  was  in  indigent  circumstances,  and 
the  aA^ails  of  CA'ery  day's  labor  were  needed  for  his  family 
of  fiA'e  little  children.  His  pecuniary  recompense  as  a 
minister  was  AA^hat  the  people  AA-'ere  disposed  to  give  him  ; 
and  that  Avas  A^ery  little,  for  the  country  was  ncAv,  the 
times  hard,  and  the  people  generally  poor.  But  he  rose 
early,  sat  up  late,  and  sometimes  Avent  hungry  himself, 
that  he  might  feed  others  with  the  "  bread  of  life  ;"  and 
thus  could  he  do  good  about  home,  and  at  the  same  time 
"be  diligent  in  business,"  as  Avell  as  "  ferA^ent  in  spirit, 
serving  the  Lord."  But  he  had  no  means  of  sustaining 
himself  on  a  journey  abroad,  or  his  family  in  his  absence. 
And  to  leave  his  family,  and  go  out  himself,  both  depend- 
ent on  the  people,  themselves  struggling  for  the  necessaries 
3  See  First  Decade,  Chap.  IV.,  where  these  questions  are  considered. 


1781.]     eandall's  journey  to  maine.        G1 

of  life,  was  altogether  aside  from  the  feelings  of  his  manly 
nature. 

But  there  was  another  objection,  scarcely  less  insupera- 
ble. A  strong  prejudice  everywhere  existed  against  trav- 
elling preachers.  The  Greneral  Court  had  early  "made 
it  penal  for  any  one  publicly  to  preach  or  prophecy, 
without  being  first  approbated  by  four  neighboring  church- 
es."'* They  were  regarded  as  "  the  common  disturbers 
of  the  peace  ;  the  breakers  up  of  the  churches."  White- 
field's  fame,  eloquence  and  piety,  opened  the  way  be- 
fore him  ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  passed  along,  than 
the  elastic  elements  of  opposition  closed  in  behind  him, 
against  all  who  might  wish  to  follow.  When  Eandall's 
convictions  of  duty  were  not  clear,  or  his  access  to  the 
people  was  doubtful,  no  man  was  more  cautious ;  but 
when  conscious  that  God  called  him  to  act  against  the 
opinions  of  men,  those  opinions  were  as  nothing  in  his  sight. 
On  the  question  now  under  consideration,  he  finally  satis- 
fied himself  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt ;  and,  on  the  30th 
of  September,  just  eleven  years  from  the  day  on  which  he 
left  all  for  Christ,  he  commenced  his  second  tour  to  Maine. 
On  reaching  the  Saco  river,  he  says,  "  I  found  a  brother 
who  was  willing  to  accompany  me  to  the  end  of  the  jour- 
ney. The  Lord  granted  us  his  presence,  prepared  the  way 
before  us,  and  disposed  the  people  to  show  us  much  kind- 
ness." Crossing  the  Kennebec,  their  first  meetii^g  was  on 
Parker's  Island  [now  Georgetown],  where  a  precious 
work  of  grace  succeeded.  October  2d,  Randall  made  his 
first  visit  to  Woolwich.  A  few  pious  Christians,  like 
Simeon  of  old,  were  there  "  waiting  for  the  consolation  of 
Israel."  His  first  sermon  was  from  Solomon's  Song,  1  :  7^ 
8  :  "  Tell  me,  0  thou  whom  my  soul  loveth,  where  thou, 
feedest,  ivhere  thou  maJcest  thy  flock  to  rest  at  noon^^'  &c. 
Christians  recognized  the  stranger  as  an  under  shepherd, 
and  were  led  into  "  green  pastures,"  and  "beside  the  still 
waters."     Sinners  were  impressed  with  the  very  announce- 

*  Williamson's  History  of  Maine,  Vol.  I.,  p.  356. 
6 


62  THE   FIRST   CHURCHES.  [1781. 

ment  of  the  text,  and,  as  he  proceeded,  conviction  took 
a  still  stronger  hold  upon  their  hearts.  As  the  people  of 
all  ranks  came  out  the  next  day,  he  preached  from  PhiL 
2  :  9-11.  Many  then  bowled  the  knee  to  Jesus,  and  con- 
fessed him  as  "  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father."" 
At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  five  requested  to  be  baptized, 
and,  after  the  example  of  Jesus,  they  were  "  buried  with 
him  in  baptism."  The  ordinance  had  never  been  admin- 
istered so  far  eastward  by  thirty  miles  ;  and  only  three, 
among  the  three  hundred  spectators,  had  anywhere  wit- 
nessed the  Scriptural  mode  before.  Mary  Savage,  after- 
wards married  to  John  Card,  and  more  popularly  known 
as  Molly  Card,  was  one  of  the  number.  She  had  been 
nearly  blind  from  her  birth,  but  being  of  a  strong  mind, 
deep  sympathies,  and  rich  Christian  experience,  she  be- 
came emphatically  "  a  mother  in  Israel." 

A  large  number  of  the  men  in  those  towns  had  been  in 
the  army,  and  had  returned  with  all  the  vices  of  the  camp.. 
Their  dancing,  drinking,  wrangling  habits,  had  been  in- 
fused among  the  people,  and  curiosity  first  called  them  out 
to  hear.  When  the  power  of  God  touched  their  hearts,, 
they  fell  before  it,  and  great  was  the  reform  in  their  lives. 
While  sinners  were  coming  home,  and  saints  were  rejoic- 
ing, ministers  and  members  of  the  "  standing  order"  were, 
many  of  them,  disaffected.  Notwithstanding  their  belief 
that  "  God  has  foreordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass," 
they  were  altogether  unreconciled  to  this  religious  awak- 
ening ;  and  the  manifestations  of  their  displeasure  were 
frequent  and  various. 

On  one  occasion,  as  Randall  went  to  an  appointment  at 
Stinson's  Mills  in  Woolwich,  he  found  a  large  congrega- 
tion before  the  meeting  house,  and  among  them  Avas  "  the 
parson,"  who  stepped  up  to  him  and  demanded  his  au- 
thority for  going  about  and  appointing  meetings  in  parishes 
not  his  own.  Randall  informed  him  that  the  appointment 
was  made  by  express  request  of  friends  living  in  the  par- 
ish, and  that  he  was  called  of  God  to  go  and  preach 


1781.]  CHURCHES    IN   HAINE.  ^3 

wherever  people  were  anxious  to  hear.  "  Called  of  God  !" 
said  the  irritable  parson,  "  give  us  the  proof  of  your  call. 
I  deiiiand  of  you,  in  the  presence  of  this  congregation,  to 
turn  this  riding  Avhip  into  a  serpent."  Said  one  of  his 
townsmen,  "  I  think  if  he  were  to  do  so,  you  would  be 
the  first  one  to  run  from  it."  The  people  were  now  in  an 
uproar,  and,  while  contending  about  the  occupancy  of  the 
house,  Randall  withdrew  all  claim  or  privilege  in  it ;  and, 
stepping  upon  a  mound  over  the  slumbering  dead,  he  ask- 
ed for  silence,  and  said,  "  '  The  Most  High  dwelleth  not  in 
temples  made  with  hands.'  I  will  have  this  grave  for  my 
pulpit,  and  the  heavens  for  my  sounding  board  ;"  and 
immediately  commenced  one  of  his  most  powerful  dis- 
courses. Some  heard  awhile,  and  left  in  anger ;  some 
tarried  to  scoff,  and  to  others  it  was  a  time  of  refreshing 
"  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord." 

The  next  Sabbath  he  was  again  at  "Woolwich,  and,  after 
a  severe  illness  in  the  morning,  he  preached  in  the  after- 
noon, when  "  they  that  gladly  received  the  word  were 
baptized,"  and  the  same  day  a  church  was  constituted. 
At  that  time  a  church  was  embodied  at  Georgetown,  an- 
other of  twenty  members  on^quam  Island,  then  a  part  of 
Edgecomb,  now  Westport,  and  yet  another  at  Bristol. 
Thus  was  laid,  during  this  visit,  the  foundation  of  the 
Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting.  After  an  absence  of  thir- 
ty-seven days,  Randall  returned  to  New  Durham,  having 
travelled  four  hundred  miles,  attended  forty-seven  public 
meetings,  and  performed  an  untold  amount  of  personal 
labor  for  Christ. 

But  his  active  mind  and  glowing  heart  would  not  allow 
him  to  rest  in  worldly  pursuits,  only  as  the  necessities  of 
his  family  demanded  his  manual  labor.  And  when  these 
necessities  were  met  for  the  time  being,  the  ripened  fields 
and  calls  of  the  Spirit  led  him  out  after  lost  sinners. 
After  remaining  at  home  a  few  days,  Randall  was  request- 
ed to  return  to  Maine,  and  visit  the  towns  of  Gorham  and 
Scarborough.     At  the  former  place  he  found  the  people 


64  •  THE   FIRST   CHURCHES.  [1782. 

mucli  as  he  had  left  them  the  year  before,  and,  after  labor- 
ing there  for  a  few  days,  amid  displays  of  Immanuel's 
power,  a  church  was  organized  at  Fort  Hill.  In  Scarbor- 
ough many  were  hopefully  converted,  and  a  church  was 
probably  organized  in  that  part  of  the  town  called  Duns- 
ton.  Sometime  during  this  year  an  interest  was  awaken- 
ed, and  a  church  gathered,  at  Little  River  in  Lisbon,  and 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Androscoggin  in  Durham. ^  At 
the  close  of  the  year  1781,  fourteen  "^  free  churches  had 
been  organized  as  above  stated,  and  in  each  of  them 
Monthly  Meetings  were  established. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1782,  Randall  was  con- 
fined in  his  labors  to  New  Durham  and  adjoining  towns, 
by  the  sickness  and  death  of  his  father-in-law,  a  member 
of  his  family.  Other  ministers  were  limited  in  their  la- 
bors, mostly  to  the  towns  of  their  residence,  but  they  were 
not  in  vain.  The  Crown  Point  church  in  Strafford  being 
in  trouble,  Lock  and  John  Shepherd  went  to  their  assis- 
tance in  the  month  of  June.  Failing  in  their  efforts  to 
adjust  the  difficulties,  they  wrote  for  Randall  and  Dea. 
Boody  to  come  to  their  aid  the  next  day.  The  immediate 
result  of  their  efforts  is  now  unknown,  but  the  sad  story 
of  the  disorganization  of  the  church  will  soon  be  told. 

The  church  in  Hollis  having  no  pastoral  labor,  the 
members  became  alienated  in  feelings  and  divided  in  senti- 
ment. They  wrote  to  the  New  Durham  church  June  22d, 
saying  :  "  We  are  very  much  shaken  in  oixr  minds,  and 
divided,  in  some  measure,  while  Christ's  cause  seems  to 
languish.  A  number  of  our  brethren  are  desirous  that 
you  should  send  some  one  and  labor  with  us,  that  we  may 
all  be  united  in  love  and  fellowship."  What  response  was 
jnade  to  this  letter,  we  are  unable  to  say,  only  that  Ran- 
dall visited  them  a  few  months  after. 
A  church  was  organized  in  Gray  and  New  Gloucester, 

^  Some  claim  that  this  awakening  was  prior  to  any  east  of  the  Kennebec. 
^  Loudon,  Strafford  and  Acton  were  never  connected  with  the  denom- 
ination. 


1782.]  THE    SHAKERS.  65 

Maine,  July  1st,  of  which  Rev,  Daniel  Hibbard  and  Na- 
than Merrill  were  members.  Randall  again  visited  the 
churches  east  of  the  Kennebec,  and  found  them  in  good 
standing,  and  the  reforntation  still  progressing.  These 
churches  had  no  one  to  exercise  a  watchful  care  over  them, 
or  lead  the  meetings  of  devotion,  and  Ruling  Elders  were 
now  ordained — Ebenezer  Brookings,  Jr.,  in  Woolwich, 
John  Dunton  in  "Westport,  and  David  Oliver  in  George- 
town. Randall  preached  repeatedly  in  these  churches, 
and  in  the  vicinity,  and  says,  "  the  work  spread  blessedly 
through  all  the  eastern  country."  Returning  by  way  of 
Hollis,  he  bore  a  letter,  dated  October  11th,  "  to  the  breth- 
ren of  New  Durham,  Ltoudon  and  Gilmanton,"  written  by 
Daniel  Hibbard,  in  which  he  says  : 

'_'  Dear  and  Loving  Brethren  : — ^Being  your  '  brother 
and  companion  in  tribulation  and  the  kingdom  and  pa- 
tience of  Jesus  Christ,'  I  take  this  opportunity  to  write 
you  of  our  difficulties,  which  are  very  great.  *  *  * 
If  we  are  members  of  one  body,  have  we  not  a  right  to 
the  assistance  of  each  other  ?  I  beseech  you,  brethren,  to 
ask  God  if  duty  does  not  bind  you  to  take  part  with  us, 
and  come  to  our  help,  though  you  have  but  my  request : 
and  I  may  be  as  much  in  the  fault  as  others,  or  even  more, 
yet  I  promise  to  open  before  you  the  whole  matter.  Now, 
brethren,  don't  delay,  but  let  your  love  and  fervency  for 
the  truth  be  known." 

Randall  visited  them  again  November  11th,  and  so  dis^- 
tracted  was  their  condition,  in  spite  of  his  best  efforts  to 
unite  them,  that  two  persons  then  baptized  by  him,  were 
commended  to  the  New  Durham  church  for  membership. 

The  Shakers  were  the  cause  of  such  grievous  trials  in 
the  first  churches,  and  so  fearfully  threatened  their  over 
throw,  that  a  detailed  statement  of  the  fact  will  here  be 
given.     Their  origin  was  in  England,  about  the  year  1747 

ii  fanatical  offshoot  of  the  Quakers.  Because  of  the 
6* 


06  THE   FIRST   CHURCHES.  [1782. 

trembling  and  shaking  of  their  bodies  in  times  of  excited 
worship,  they  were  called  Shakers.  In  1770  Ann  Lee, 
one  of  their  number,  professed  to  have  had  an  extraordi- 
nary revelation  from  heaven,  and  was  soon  recognized  as 
their  leader,  under  the  title  of  "  Mother  Ann."  Four 
years  afterwards,  she  and  eight  of  her  adherents  came  to 
America,  and  settled  at  Watervleit,  eight  miles  from  Alba- 
ny, N,  Y.  It  is  claimed  by  them  that  divinity  dwelt  in 
the  person  of  Ann  Lee,  as  truly  as  in  Jesus  Christ,  and 
that  in  her  was  fulfilled  the  promise  of  his  second  coming. 
They  claim  to  have  power  to  heal  the  sick,  raise  the  dead, 
cast  out  devils,  speak  with  tongues,  and  to  confer  with 
angels  and  the  spirits  of  departed  friends.  They  reject 
till  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel,  and  their  Avorship  consists 
in  speaking,  singing,  dancing,  kissing,  whirling,  and  vari- 
ous gesticulations  of  arms  and  body. 

The  Loudon  and  Canterbury  church  was  in  a  distracted 
state,  some  of  its  members  having  indulged  in  fanatical 
notions  of  worship.  Lock  himself  was  inclining  that  way, 
and  the  power  of  recuperation  was  gone.  Through  the 
influence  of  a  few  substantial  members,  a  letter  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  New  Durham  church,  and  help  solicited. 
Randall  and  Dea.  Boody  were  sent  to  their  relief,  bearing 
with  them  a  sympathizing  letter,  dated  July  10th.  The 
infection  was  found  to  be  deeply  seated,  and  widely  spread, 
so  that  nothing  could  be  done  to  arrest  its  progress. 
Hearing  of  a  people  in  Connecticut,  whose  religion  was 
peculiar  and  visionary,  two  of  the  church  volunteered  to 
seek  their  acquaintance.  Their  return  Avas  accompanied 
by  Ebenezer  Cooley,  a  Shaker  from  New  York.  He 
made  high  pretensions  to  spiritual  life  and  practical  piety, 
shrewdly  keeping  in  reserve,  for  a  time,  most  of  the  ob- 
jectionable features  of  his  religion.  The  excitement  ran 
high  ;  many  were  deceived,  some  were  in  doubt,  and  the 
rest  were  sorely  grieved.  One  of  their  number,  Leavitt 
Clough,  a  man  of  wealth  and  influence,  went  to  New  York, 
that  he  might  know  the  truth  of  this  new  religion  from  a 


1782.]  EFFECTS   OF   SHAKERISJP.  67 

personal  interview  with  "  Mother  Ann  "  herself.  After 
being  held  in  abeyance  for  several  days,  he  was  ushered 
into  her  presence,  disappointed  and  even  disgusted  with 
the  interview.  He  returned,  satisfied  that  she  was  not 
divine,  but  even  immoral  in  her  habits,  and  loathsome  in 
person.  And  yet  he  could  avail  nothing  with  most  of 
those  who  had  been  led  into  the  delusion,  for  they  regard- 
ed themselves  as  persecuted  by  every  admonition  and  coun- 
ter influence. 

The  sequel  of  this  sad  story  is  soon  told.  Lock  and 
most  of  the  church  went  over  to  Shakerism.  With  one  or 
two  others  he  went  to  the  Crown  Point  church  in  Straf- 
ford, and  such  was  the  sweep  of  their  destructive  spirit, 
that  it  was  drawn  into  the  whirlpool  and  became  an  entire 
wreck.  Thus  did  Lock  ignobly  fall ;  and  thus  did  the  light 
of  those  two  free  churches  become  extinct  after  the  short 
period  of  three  years.  Nor  did  the  church  in  North 
Stratford  escape  this  blasting  influence.  Leading  breth- 
ren were  beguiled,  and,  for  a  time,  the  church  rocked 
amid  the  foam-crested  billows  of  delusion.  But  the  sea- 
manship of  Randall,  the  advising  pilot,  safely  guided  them 
through  the  storm,  and  brought  them  to  anchorage  in  the 
haven  of  Bible  doctrine  ;  not  without  the  loss,  however,  of 
their  floating  cargo. 

Some  of  the  Shakers  went  to  Gorham,  Me.,  and  led  off 
several  members  of  that  church ;  and  its  utter  extinction  was 
greatly  feared.  Not  one  of  the  free  churches  but  suffered 
more  or  less  from  their  proselyting  efforts.  They  did  all  in 
their  power  to  propagate  their  doctrines  and  multiply  their 
converts.  The  unstable  everywhere  doubted  the  obligation 
of  gospel  ordinances,  and  seriously  questioned  whether  this 
strange  people  were  not  one  step  in  advance  of  all  others. 
Randall,  Hibbard,  Tingley,  Lord  and  Weeks,  stood  up 
manfully  against  them,  exposing  their  errors,  and  resisting 
their  efforts.  At  a  Quarterly  Meeting  in  1784,  it  was 
agreed  to  observe  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  that  God 
would   cut   short  this   delusion   and   give   peace   to   the 


68  -THE   FIRST   CHUECHES.  [1783. 

churches.  The  thirteenth  of  October  was  the  day  ap- 
pointed, and  the  attention  of  the  churches  being  called  to 
the  subject,  it  was  very  generally  observed.  Their  humil- 
iation, fasting  and  prayer  were  not  in  vain.  From  that 
very  day  the  Shakers  made  no  further  inroads  upon  them. 
A  few  formed  a  family  in  New  Gloucester,  Me.,  while  the 
rest — remnants  of  about  thirty  families — finally  gathered 
themselves  together,  and  established  a  community  in  Can- 
terbury, N.  H.,  about  twelve  miles  north  of  Concord. 
There  they  continue  to  live,  a  secluded,  peaceful,  prosper- 
ous people,  numbering  about  three  hundred  in  all. 

After  the  first  shock  of  Shakerism  had  passed  over  the 
old  church  in  Strafibrd,  nine  of  its  members  soon  rallied ; 
and,  looking  to  New  Durham  as  their  earthly  hope,  dis- 
patched the  following  letter : 

"  Barrington  [Strafford],  Nov.  19,  1782, 
"  To  the  Church  at  New  Durham: 

"  We  send,  desiring  that  you  would  remember  us, 
knowing  as  you  do,  the  difiiculties  that  have  been  among 
us.  There  is  a  little  number  left  who  are  in  love,  and  it  is 
our  desire  to  be  in  fellowship  with  some  church,  *  *  * 
Do  remember  us  in  our  low  estate,  and  come  in  the  ful- 
ness of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  help  iis.  Come  as  soon 
as  you  possibly  can." 

Two  of  these  signers,  Micajah  Otis  and  "Winthrop  Young, 
afterwards  became  efficient  ministers  of  the  gospel-  We 
cannot  suppose  that  the  New  Durham  church,  or  Handall, 
with  his  desire  to  build  up  the  cause,  would  long  leave 
those  petitioners  uncared  for.  The  records  soon  speak  of 
the  Second  church,  and  the  probability  is,  that  he  soon 
visited  them,  and  effected  a  reorganization.  July  5th, 
Randall  met  brethren  of  the  First  church,  and  other  Chris- 
tians in  that  vicinity,  "  at  Joseph  Boody's  house  in  Bar- 
rington," and,  as  some  of  them  "  had  been  members  of  a 
church  that  Edward  Lock  had  gathered,  and  he  havinjr 


1783.]  EFFECTS    OF    SHAKERISM.  69 

left  them,  they  were  scattered."  ^  A  gathermg  spirit  was 
now  present,  and  several  united  with  the  church ;  if,  in- 
deed, there  was  not  a  reorganization  of  it.  Randall  tar- 
ried with  them  the  next  day,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  and 
not  only  preached  the  word,  but  administered  the  ordi- 
nances of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  and  then  did  they 
attend  to  the  "Washing  of  Feet"  as  a  gospel  ordinance. 
The  few  surviving  members  of  the  Loudon  and  Canter- 
bury church,  could  do  no  otherwise  than  follow  the  exam- 
ple of  the  Strafford  church,  consequently  they  sent  the 
following  letter : 

"  Loudon,  Jan.  13,  1783. 
"  To  Benjamin  Bandall  and  the  rest  of  the  church  at  New 
Durham : 

"  Dear  Brethren  : — ^With  a  sorrowful  heart  I  sit  down 
to  inform  you  of  our  difficulties.  If  I  mistake  not,  all  of 
our  Elders  and  Deacons  have  left  us  and  joined  the  Shak- 
ing Quakers  (so  called),  and  with  them  a  great  part  of  the 
church.  Most  of  the  rest  seem  to  be  in  a  cold,  dull,  mel- 
ancholy state.  *  *  *  Dear  brethren,  we  are  in  want 
of  your  prayers  ;  we  want  your  help.  The  first  Monday 
in  this  month  we  held  a  church  meeting,  and  concluded  to 
send  you  this  letter,  desiring  brother  Randall  would  attend 
with  us  on  Sabbath,  the  27th  of  this  month,  to  have  the 
Lord's  supper  administered.  Will  he  not  come  the  Friday 
before,  and  have  a  meeting  on  said  day  ?  Come  without 
fail,  if  the  Lord  will.  Benjamin  Sias,  Clerk. 

"  To  the  Baptist  church  of) 

Christ  at  New  Durham."  ) 

Randall  being  absent,  could  not  visit  them  as  requested, 
but  he  went  to  their  relief  soon  after,  and,  by  his  timely  aid, 
they  were  kept  along  till  a  permanent  church  was  organized. 
Thus  was  a  remnant  saved  in  every  place  where  there  had 
been  a  free  church,  around  which  others  gathered,  and  those 
reorganized  churches  continue  unto  the  present  time. 
*  New  Durham  Church  Records. 


70  THE    FIRST  CHURCHES.  [1783, 

This  sad  defection  cast  its  alienating  influence  into  every 
«hurch,  and  was  the  occasion  of  much  labor  and  severe  trials 
to  Randall  at  home,  as  well  as  abroad.  At  the  February 
conference  the  Deacon  brought  several  charges  against  him, 
which  the  church  pronounced  "  groundless  jealousies." 
Other  charges  were  then  presented  by  the  same  individual ; 
and  in  the  meantime  Randall  was  laid  low  with  a  fever. 
His  life  was  despaired  of,  but  he  afterwards  said,  "  through 
the  whole  illness  I  enjoyed  a  heavenly  calm.  I  found  my 
faith  strong  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  felt  no  choice 
but  the  Lord's  choice,  either  in  life  or  death,"  After  two 
months'  confinement,  he  began  to  resume  his  labors,  and 
directed  his  first  efforts  towards  a  reconciliation  with  Dea- 
con Boody,  which  was  happily  effected.  But  they  were 
not  long  encouraging  themselves  over  the  adjustment  of 
this  difiiculty,  before  a  new  and  more  serious  one  disturbed 
their  peace.  Three  prominent  members,  Dea.  Boody, 
Ruling  Elder  Nathaniel  Buzzell,  and  Ebenezer  Bickford, 
publicly  declared  that  they  did  not  believe  that  either  bap- 
tism, the  Lord's  supper,  or  the  "  washing  of  feet,"  was 
obligatory  upon  Christians.  After  six  months  of  unsuc- 
cessful effort  to  reconcile  them  to  the  ordinances,  they  were 
dismissed.  The  letter  of  dismission  to  each  states  the 
cause  of  grievance  to  the  church,  and  adds,  "  this  we  hold 
to  be  a  transgression  ;"  but,  as  they  claimed  to  act  con- 
scientiously, it  says,  "  believing  it  is  not  right  to  make  a 
prison  of  the  church,  to  confine  persons  therein,  contrary 
to  their  minds,  and  not  being  desirous  to  lord  it  over  thy 
conscience,  *  *  *  this  may  inform  thee  that  we  shall 
not,  from  the  date  hereof,  look  upon  thee  as  a  member  in  vis- 
ible standing  with  us,  though  we  at  all  times  wish  thee  well." 

"  From  the  Baptist  church  at  New  Durham,  to  Dea. 
Robert  Boody." 

Early  in  Februaiy,  1783,  Samuel  Weeks  removed  to 
East  Earsonsfield,  Me.,  whither  several  of  his  townsmen 
from  Gilmanton  had  gone  before  him.     He  was  the  first 


1783.]  RANDALL    AT    BRUNSWICK.  71 

settled  minister  in  town,  and  a  free  church  was  soon  organ- 
ized. There  were  but  few  inhabitants  in  town,  not  one 
for  two  miles  in  the  direction  of  Limerick.  In  the  morn- 
ing of  that  town's  history,  he  sowed  the  seed  of  truth,  and 
in  the  evenings  his  successors  have  not  withheld  their  hand. 
Tlie  consequence  is,  a  controlling  influence  for  good,  and^ 
the  establishment  of  flourishing  churches  in  most  of  the 
srfrrounding  towns. 

The  time  having  come  for  making  his  annual  visit  to 
the  churches  in  Maine,  Randall  laid  the  subject  before  the 
Monthly  Meeting,  and  leave  of  absence  was  unanimously 
granted.  He  left  home  September  26th,  and  on  his  way  to 
his  "  new  vineyard,"  as  he  often  called  it,  he  preached  and 
baptized  for  the  first  time  at  Lewiston.  He  visited  all  the 
churches  he  had  gathered,  attended  their  Monthly  Meet- 
ings, and  foimd  them  steadfast  in  the  faith,  and  increasing 
in  numbers.  He  extended  his  labors  into  towns  not 
visited  before,  where  many  were  converted,  especially  in 
New  Castle,  Edgecomb,  on  the  main  land,  and  in  a  distant 
part  of  Bristol.  Benedict's  History  of  the  Baptists  says, 
imder  date  of  November  4th,  "^  About  this  time  a  Rev, 
Mr.  Randall,  the  celebrated  Freewill  minister,  came  to 
tlie  island  [Georgetown] ,  and  labored  with  success  a  short 
time." 

Returning  homewards,  he  preached  a  few  times  in  Bruns- 
Avick,  and,  being  strongly  importuned,  tarried  over  the 
Sabbath.  But  the  parish  minister  expressed  to  him  per- 
sonally his  displeasure  with  the  excitement  among  his 
people,  and  would  neither  allow  him  to  preach  nor  sit  in 
the  pulpit.  It  was  a  mournful  day  to  Randall  and  many 
others,  but  in  the  evening  he  preached  again  at  Deacon 
Snow's,  the  house  being  so  densely  crowded  that  the  audi- 
ence was  compelled  to  stand.  The  power  of  God  so  fell 
upon  the  congregation  that  sinners  cried  for  mercy,  and 
saints  shouted  for  joy.  Even  the  minister,  being  present, 
himself  "  cried  out  among  the  rest."  It  was  not  till  two 
or  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  that  burdened  souls  found 


72  THE   FIRST   CHURCHES.  [1783. 

peace,  and  were  willing  to  retire.  The  signs  and  tears  of 
a  deaf  and  dumb  man  were  so  expressive  of  his  agony  of 
soul  in  view  of  his  sins,  and  then  of  his  peace  of  mind, 
when  they  were  forgiven,  that  none  could  doubt  the 
inward  convictions  and  saving  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
At  Harpswell  he  held  meetings  for  several  days,  and  there 
also  saw  great  displays  of  divine  power.  Several  were 
baptized  before  he  left,  but  Avhether  a  church  was  there 
organized,  or  they  were  received  as  members  of  some  ad- 
jacent church,  we  do  not  know. 

John  Jenks  of  Gray,  being  one  hundred  and  one  years 
of  age,  heard  Randall  preach,  on  this  tour,  and  felt,  as  he 
had  never  before,  his  need  of  religion.  He  soon  found 
mercy,  and  lived  a  consistent  Christian  till  removed  by 
death  at  the  advanced  age  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen. 

Randall  was  absent  on  this  visit  about  two  months,  and 
attended  more  than  sixty  meetings.  At  the  next  Monthly 
Meeting  in  NeAv  Durham,  "  he  gave  an  account  of  his 
journey,  and  the  business  done  in  the  several  branches  of 
the  church,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  brethren." 
This  was  his  usual  practice  afterwards,  on  returning  from 
his  journeys,  and  the  sessions  of  the  Quarterly  and  Yearly 
Meetings. 

The  line  of  demarkation  between  the  Calvinistic  and 
Arminian  Baptists  was  but  faintly  drawn  for  several  years. 
There  was  no  association  of  churches  among  the  latter  till 
late  in  1783,  and  none  among  the  former  in  Maine  or 
New  Hampshire  till  two  years  after,  so  that  ministers  and 
churches  were  independent,  one  of  another,  and  some  of 
them  were  long  undecided  with  which  division  they  would 
cooperate.  Till  near  the  time  when  the  Calvinistic  Bap- 
tist Association  was  formed,  in  1785,  honorable  mention 
is  made  by  Benedict  of  Tingley,  Weeks  and  Hibbard,  as 
Baptist  ministers.  Randall  and  his  co-adjutors  were  ac- 
knowledged as  sound  on  all  the  great  questions  of  evangel- 
ical religion,  Calvinism  alone  excepted ;  and  their  churches 
Avcre,  for  many  years,  known  only  as  Baptist  churches.    But 


1783. J         CALVINISTIC    AND    FREEWILL    BAPTISTS.  73 

the  line  of  distinction  was  becoming  more  and  more  evi- 
dent, and  it  may  now  be  traced  back  to  the  year  1780,  as 
the  origin  of  the  denomination.  It  was  then  that  Randall 
was  ordained,  and  the  New  Durham  church  organized. 
Other  free  churches  existed  before  it,  but  they  survived 
only  two  or  three  years. 
7 


74  THE    QUAKTERLY   MEETING.  [1783. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  QUARTERLY  MEETING, 

AND  GENERAL  HISTORY. 

1783—1790. 

Preliminary  Measures — Convention  —  Organization — Second  Session — 
Circular  Letter  —  Third  Session — ^Fourth — Allen's  "Two  Mites" — 
Business  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting — Trials  in  1785 — Whitney's  Ordi- 
nation— Letter  to  Cahinistic  Baptists — Merrill  and  McCorson  Ordain- 
ed— Quarterly  Meeting  at  Parsonsfield. 

On  his  tour  through  Maine  in  the  autumn  of  1783,  as  re- 
corded in  the  preceding  chapter,  Randall  not  only  visited 
the  churches,  but  the  ministers  that  preached  a  free  and 
full  salvation.  As  they  rehearsed  to  each  other  their 
labors  and  trials,  explained  the  Scriptures,  and  worshipped 
together,  they  felt  the  need  of  regular  associations  of  this 
kind.  They  had  found,  too,  that  the  churches  needed  some 
organized  bond  of  union,  some  authorized  body  to  look 
after  their  interests,  and  some  appropriate  tribunal  for 
counsel  and  appeal.  And  it  was  believed,  also,  that  some 
combined  effort  for  the  worship  of  God  and  the  salva- 
tion of  souls,  would  be  blessed  by  the  great  Head  of  the 
church. 

These  subjects  were  often  the  theme  of  remark  as  they 
sat  in  the  family  circle,  or  travelled  together  from  meet- 
ing to  meeting.  Nor  did  they  converse  merely,  and  rest 
their  conclusions  upon  the  deductions  of  human  reasoning 
alone  ;  but  they  asked  wisdom  of  Him  who  gives  "  to  all 
men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not."  There  was  no  differ- 
ence of  opinion  in  their  private  intercourse,  and  all  were 


1783.]  CONVENTION   AT   HOLLIS.  75 

desirous  of  a  public  meetiiig  for  a  general  interchange  of 
views.  Arrangements  were  accordingly  made  for  a  Con- 
vention, to  be  held  at  HoUis  in  October.  How  many 
attended,  and  who  they  were,  it  is  now  impossible  to  know, 
as  no  recoi'd  of  the  meeting  has  been  preserved.  Randall, 
however,  was  there,  and  was,  perhaps,  the  leading  spirit. 
The  result  of  their  deliberations  Avas  a  conditional  agree- 
ment to  hold  a  general  meeting,  at  different  places,  four 
times  a  year,  to  be  composed  of  ministers  and  delegates 
from  the  churches.  The  object  of  this  meeting  would  be 
to  ascertain  the  state  of  the  churches — consult  upon  the 
general  interests  of  religion — adjust  difficulties — inquire 
into  the  fellowship  of  those  present — examine  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  and  ordain  them  if  advisable — and  en- 
gage in  public  worship,  and  the  celebration  of  the  ordi- 
nances. The  condition  of  this  agreement  was,  the  appro- 
bation of  the  churches.  The  men  of  that  day  believed  in 
democracy — free  and  pure  ; — consequently  the  proposed 
meeting  was  submitted  to  the  churches,  and  the  Conven- 
tion adjourned  tiU  December,  for  action  to  be  taken  there- 
on. 

The  Convention  again  met  at  Hollis,  on  Saturday, 
December  6th,  when  several  reports  were  received,  all 
approving  the  proposed  meeting.  The  letter  from  New 
Durham  expressed  great  satisfaction,  and  three  delegates 
were  in  attendance.  "  A  number  were  present  from  va- 
rious other  branches."  The  meeting  was  permanently 
organized  by  the  choice  of  Randall  as  Moderator,  and 
Tingley  as  Clerk.  "  After  mutual  conversation  "  on  the 
subject,  without  arriving  to  any  conclusion,  the  meeting 
adjourned  till  Monday.  The  Sabbath  Avas  indeed  a  day 
of  rest.  Many  of  the  delegates  had  met  as  strangers,  but 
now  worshipped  as  friends  ;  and  sweet  was  the  commun- 
ion at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  followed  by  the  self-denying 
service  of  washing  one  another's  feet. 

On  Monday  it  was  voted  "  to  meet  quarterly  for  the 
advancement  of  Christ's  glorious  cause  ;"  and,  from  this 


76  THE    QUARTERLY    MEETING.  [1783. 

circumstance,  tlie  meeting  was  called  the  Quarterly 
Meeting.  The  times  and  places  of  its  future  sessions 
were  fixed  as  follows  :  At  New  Gloucester  the  first  Satur- 
day in  March ;  at  New  Durham  the  first  Saturday  in 
June  ;  at  Woolwich  the  first  Saturday  in  September,  and 
at  HoUis  the  first  Saturday  in  December. ^  Benjamin 
Randall  was  then  chosen  Recording  Secretary,  to  whom 
all  the  minutes  kept  by  the  Clerks  of  the  several  sessions 
Avere  to  be  transmitted  for  record.  A  book  of  five  hun- 
dred pages  was  purchased,  and  for  twenty-five  years  the 
record  is  all  in  his  own  hand-writing. 

The  names  of  Randall,  Tingley,  Hibbard,  and  seven 
laymen,  are  affixed  to  a  copy  of  a  license  given  to  Joseph 
Judkins,  of  Hopkinton  ;  and,  from  this  circumstance,  it 
may  be  inferred  that  they,  and  per/io/js  they  only,  were  the 
active  members  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting.  By  request  a 
Committee  visited  the  church  in  Scarborough,  "  set  things 
in  order"  there,  and  gave  a  certificate  to  the  effect  that 
the  members  were  "  Regular  Baptists."  Rev.  Daniel 
Hibbard  had  been  accustomed  to  baptize  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  only.  It  was  now  agreed  that  the 
formula  should  be  the  words  of  Christ,  and  the  candidate 
be  baptized  in  "  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

A  Circular  Letter,  or  Epistle,  as  it  was  usually  called, 
was  then  sent  to  the  churches,  and  as  there  was  at  this 
time  no  printing  office  in  Maine,  and  only  one  in  Ncav 
Hampshire,  manuscript  copies  were  taken  fron^the  origi- 
naL  The  meeting  continued  for  five  days,  and,  in  view  of 
its  results,  few  in  the  denomination  have  been  more  im- 
portant, as  it  iiiaugurates  a  new  ei*a. 

It  Avas  a  coincidence  worthy  of  note,  tluit  in  this  same 
year  in  which  was  organized  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  was 

*  It  may  assist  the  reader  in  fixing  the  locality  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ings, and  the  Yearly  Meetings  (after  the  change  in  name),  to  remember 
that  the  June  session  was  always  held  in  New  Hampshire,  and  for 
twenty-five  years,  all  the  other  sessions  were  held  in  Maine. 


1784.]  SECOND  SESSION  OP  THE  Q.  MEETING.  77 

embodied  also  the  first  of  tliose  churclies,  afterwards  known 
as  tlie  Free  Communion  Baptists-.  The  origin  of  that  de- 
nomination was  in  StephentoAvn,  New  York,  a  few  miles 
east  of  Albany ;  and  from  fountains  thus  remote  in  locali- 
ty, and  almost  equally  remote  from  the  present  in  time,  did 
these  two  free  streams  take  their  rise.  After  thirty  years, 
their  overflowing  waters  occasionally  mingled,  but  it  was 
nearly  sixty  years  before  they  became  one  and  the  same. 

The  second  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  convened 
at  New  Gloucester,  March  6,  1784.  Daniel  Hibbard  was 
chosen  Moderator,  and  Job  Macumber,  Clerk.  Macumber 
was  a  Calvinistic  Baptist,  but  of  liberal  views.  He  not 
only  attended  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  kept  the  min- 
utes, but  preached  on  the  Sabbath.  This  he  could  then 
do,  for  there  was  no  similar  association  of  churches  in  the 
other  branch  of  the  Baptist  family.  But  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Association  was  formed  the  next  year,  embracing 
the  few  Calvinistic  churches  in  Maine,  and  after  that  they 
no  longer  cooperated  with  unbelievers  in  the  theology  of 
the  Genevan  reformer. 

At  this  Quarterly  Meeting  the  churches  in  New  Dur- 
ham, Parsonsfield,  and  Woolwich,  were  represented  by 
both  delegates  and  letters  ;  those  in  Hollis,  Scarborough, 
Gorham,  and  New  Gloucester,  by  delegates  only.  And 
this  was  about  the  ratio  of  reports  by  letter,  for  many 
years.  The  letters  were  always  expressive  of  good  desires 
and  fervent  prayers,  spoke  of  trials  and  declensions,  if 
they  existed,  or  of  revivals,  if  they  had  been  enjoyed  ; 
but  contained  little  or  no  statistical  information.  All 
present  were  found  to  be  in  perfect  fellowshij)  with  each 
other,  and  Randall  preached  from  Psalms  133  :  1  :  "  Be- 
hold, how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to 
dAvell  together  in  unity."  Several  followed  with  impres- 
sive testimonies,  and,  says  Randall,  "  It  was  a  most  mar- 
vellous and  wonderful  meeting  ;  sinners  were  awakened, 
and  saints  rejoiced  in  God." 

As  there  are  no  copies  of  the  sermons  of  that  day,  and 
7* 


78  THE    QUARTERLY   MEETING.-  [l784. 

no  surviving  witness  to  tell  how  they  preached,  the  Circu- 
lar Letter  of  this  session  is  given  entire.  It  will  show-  the 
men — ^their  spirit,  address,  and  moving  appeals — better 
th-an  any  general  stiatement. 

"  Dearly  Beloved  : — - 

*' Being  now  assembled  at  New  Gloucester,  and  hav- 
ing had,  and  still  enjoying,  much  of  the  divine  presence 
•and  assistance  in  doing  the  business,  and  being  in  love  and 
fellowship,  we  now  salute  you  with  this  epistle  ;  wishing 
grace,  mercy  and  peace  through  Jesus  Christ. 

"  '  Unto  you,  O  man,  I  call,  and  my  voice  is  unto  the 
sons  of  men,'  saith  Divine  wisdom  ;  and  feeling  our  souls 
influenced,  in  a  measure,  by  the  same  tender  spirit,  and 
our  hearts  filled  with  love,  we  would  call  unto  the  poor, 
Christless  sinners  around  the  world.  Precious  souls,  who 
are  destitute  of  an  interest  in  the  pardoning  blood  of  Jesus, 
consider,  O,  for  Christ's  sake,  consider  the  dreadful  case 
you  are  in.  How  exposed  you  are  every  moment  to  the 
dreadful  storm  of  God's  indignation.  For,  if  not  in  Christ, 
who  is  the  only  hiding  place,  the  only  refuge,  the  only 
name  under  heaven  whereby  any  can  be  saved,  Avhat  safety 
can  there  be  ?  Think,  O  think  ;  what  can  you  do  ?  When 
the  Lord  shall  make  inquisition  for  blood,  how  can  you 
answer  ?  O  how  can  you  stand  before  the  Lord,  and 
give  an  account  of  the  many  times  you  have  slighted  the 
Saviour,  in  whom  alone  the  poor,  miserable  children  of 
men  can  be  safe  ?  How  many  times  has  the  dear,  kind, 
merciful,  all-glorious,  all-loving,  all-worthy  Jesus,  come 
unto  you  by  the  tender  motions  of  his  blessed  spirit,  and, 
shining  into  your  souls,  discovered  unto  you  your  state,  and 
told  you  that  you  were  sinners  !  And,  with  the  still,  gen- 
tle whispers  of  his  love,  said  unto  you,  •'  Look  unto  me, 
and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth.'  '  Come,  now, 
and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord,'  though  your 
sins  be  as  scarlet  and  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  snow  and 
as  wool.     Behold  me,  behold  me  !  and  yet  you  have  turned 


1784.]  CmCtJLAR  LETtEK.  79 

him  aAvay,  and  by  your  practice  have  said,  '  Go  thy  way 
for  this  time,  and  when  I  have  a  convenient  season,  I  will 
call  for  thee.'  '  Away  with  him.  Crucify  him,  crucify 
him.'  And  as  the  Jews  of  old  chose  Barabbas  rather 
than  Christ,  you  are  choosing  rather  to  go  to  hell,  than  to 
heaven.  This  may  seem  harsh,  but  if  you  will  give  your- 
selves time  to  think  a  moment,  you  will  find  it  true. 

"  Now,  if  any  of  you  will  go  on  in  sin,  indulging  in 
pride  and  fashions,  vain  talking  and  jesting,  cursing  and 
swearing,  drunkenness,  adultery,  carnal  company,  gaming, 
frolicking  and  dancing,  anger,  malice,  revenge,  worldly- 
mindedness,  worldly  honors,  Rabbi-greetings,  uppermost 
rooms  and  chief  seats — choosing  all,  or  any  of  these,  is 
choosing  the  way  of  hell,  because  they  are  the  things  that 
lead  there.  They  are  in  opposition  to  the  teachings  of 
God's  spirit,  which  alone  can  lead  the  soul  to  rest  and 
peace.  And  the  soul  who  rejects  that  spirit,  refuseth 
heaven.  Therefore,  dear  and  precious  souls,  although 
you  have  grieved  away  Christ's  spirit  time  after  time,  for 
your  soul's  sake,  for  Christ's  sake,  for  heaven's,  and  for 
glory's  sake,  don't  dare  put  it  off  once  more,  lest  you  should 
put  it  off  once  too  often.  For,  although  the  blessed  spirit  has 
come  again  and  again,  with  this  compassionate  language, 
'How  shall  I  give  thee  up,  O  sinner,  how  shall  I  make 
thee  as  Admah,  how  shall  I  set  thee  as  Zeboim  !'  '  Turn 
ye,  turn  ye,  for  why  will  ye  die,'  yet  there  will  be  a  last 
time  when  he  shall  strive  with  you.  And  if  he  leave  you, 
and  God  should  say,  '  He  is  joined  to  idols,  let  him  alone,' 
what  a  dreadful  case  would  be  yours  !  O  soul-rending, 
soul-sinking  consideration  !  you  must  lie  down  in  hell  to 
all  eternity.  Therefore,  '  knowing  the  terrors  of  the  Lord, 
we  persuade  you,'  for  Christ's  sake,  fly,  fly  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  O  behold,  behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  as  he  ap- 
peareth  by  his  spirit,  so  that  by  beholding,  you  may  be 
changed  into  the  same  image  before  yovi  are  eternally  undone. 

"  Parents,  see  to  it,  that  you  bring  up  your  children  in 
the  fear  of  the  Lord.     Suppress  all  vice,  and  encourage  all 


80  THE    QUARTERLY   MEETING.  [1784. 

virtue,  and  set  them  such  examples  as  you  can  answer  at 
the  bar  of  God.  And  children,  0,  for  your  souls'  sake, 
remember  your  Creator  in  the  days  of  your  youth,  and 
obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord.  Masters,  give  that  which 
is  just  and  equal  to  your  servants,  both  for  soul  and  body, 
time  and  eternity.  Servants,  love  and  obey  God  above  all 
things,  and  serve  your  masters  faithfully,  for  conscience' 
sake,  toward  God. 

"  O  backsliders,  leave  the  field  of  swine  and  husks  ;  re- 
turn to  yotir  Father's  house,  where  there  is  bread  enough ; 
remain  no  longer  in  a  starving  condition.  O  how  can 
you  leave  so  kind,  loving,  glorious,  precious  a  friend,  for 
a  few  momentary,  carnal  delights  ?  O,  for  Christ's  sake, 
return,  or  your  case  will  be  more  dreadful  than  if  you  had 
never  knowTi  anything  of  Him.  For  it  would  have  been  bet- 
ter for  thee  '  not  to  have  known  the  way  of  righteousness, 
than,  after  thou  hast  known  it,  to  turn  from  the  holy 
commandment.'  Dear  saints  of  God,  who  love  JesvTS,  live 
up  to  your  profession.  Live  like  children  of  the  King  of 
kings.  Let  your  light  shine.  Live  always  ready,  like 
servants,  waiting  for  the  coming  of  their  Lord.  Then,  O 
then  shall  you  be  found  of  your  God  in  peace,  and  go  to 
be  ever  with  the  Lord.  O  sweet,  ravishing,  glorious, 
soul-reviving  thought.  O  wonderful,  wonderful,  wonder- 
ful, to  be  ever,  forever  with  the  Lord,  bowing  with  glori- 
fied millions  of  angels,  archangels,  cherubim,  seraphim, 
and  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  crying,  '  holy, 
holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  God  Almighty.'  What  soul  can 
contemplate  this  without  crying  out,  '  Come,  Lord  Jesus, 
come  quickly,'  and  hasten  the  glorious  day.  So  be  it. 
Amen.  Daniel  Hibbard,  Moderator. 

Benj'n  Randall,  Cleric. 

"March,  1784." 

The  next  session  convened  at  Edgecomb,  Me.,  on  the 
island  now  called  Westport,  September  4th.  Randall  Avas 
chosen  Moderator,  and  Ebenezer  Brookings,  Clerk.     Here, 


1784.]  QUARTERLY   MEETING   AT   WESTPORT.  81 

for  the  first  time,  did  individuals  unite  with  the  -Quarterly 
Meeting,  rather  than  a  church.  This  practice  was  con- 
tinued till  some  of  them  disregarded  the  injunction  that 
"  they  should  join  with  the  particular  Monthly  Meeting 
where  they  resided."  Considering  themselves  free  from 
the  restraints  and  responsibilities  of  thie  church,  in  1787,  it 
Avas  "  Voted,  that  those  who  are  not  in  fellowship  with 
the  church,  are  not  with  the  Quarterly  Meeting." 

And  here,  too,  was  made  the  first  effort  to  bring  the 
power  of  the  press  into  the  service  of  the  church.  Henry 
Allen,  a  New  Light  preacher  from  Nova  Scotia,  came 
into  Maine,  bringing  with  him  a  work  of  2-50  pages, 
written  by  himself,  and  called  "  Two  Mites,"  in  which  he 
'discussed  several  theological  questions,  such  as  the  Fall  of 
Man — His  Recovery  by  Christ — Embassadors  of  Christ — 
The  Power  of  Ordination — The  Church — and  the  Day  of 
Judgment.  Both  the  man  and  the  book  were  favorably 
received,  and  it  was  now  "  voted  to  try  and  have  brother 
Henry  Allen's  '  Two  Mites '  reprinted."  The  eflfort  was  suc- 
cessful, and  a  subscription  edition  was  soon  published.  All 
the  sentiments  advanced  by  Allen  were  not  endorsed,  but 
it  was  extensively  read,  being  almost  the  only  a«h'-Calvin- 
istic  work  then  in  circulation. 

It  was  at  this  session  that  the  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
was  appointed,  in  view  of  the  corrupting  influence  of  the 
Shakers,  as  already  noticed. 

The  Circular  Letter  from  the  December  session  breathes 
the  true  spirit  of  missions.  It  says,  "  Our  souls  long  for 
the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  to  cover  the  earth  ; 
that  there  may  be  one  Lord,  and  his  name  one  through 
the  whole  earth.  O,  dear  brethren  and  sisters,  pray,  pray, 
PRAY  that  Zion's  King  may  come,  and  his  will  be  done  on 
earth  as  in  heaven.  Diffuse  and  breath  all  around,  if  pos- 
sible, through  the  whole  world,  the  love,  mercy,  and  un- 
searchable riches  of  Christ." 

As  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  the  only  denominational 
exponent  in  tliat  day,  the  first  four  sessions  have  been 


82  THE   QUARTERLY   MEETING.  [1784. 

considered  somewhat  in  detail,  but  this  will  not  be  done 
hereafter.  The  objects  of  the  meeting  were  stated  in 
speaking  of  its  organization,  and  they  were  sought  in  about 
the  following  order  : — The  Quarterly  Meeting  convened 
on  Saturday,  for  several  years  the  fii'st  Saturday  in  Spring, 
Summer,  Fall  and  Winter.  It  seems  to  have  been  com- 
posed of  ministers,  church  officers,  and  chosen  delegates. 
The  observance  of  this  rule  was  not  very  strict,  and  for 
years  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  often  a  convention  of  all 
present,  rather  than  a  delegated  body. 

The  hour  for  opening  the  Conference  having  arrived,  all 
united  in  a  song  of  praise.  Prayer  Avas  then  offered, 
sometimes  by  one,  and  sometimes  by  several.  And  the 
opening  exercise  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  not  unfre- 
quently  a  season  of  social  worship,  in  Avhich  both  brethren 
and  sisters  participated.  The  meeting  then  organized, 
and  letters  from  the  churches  were  read,  and  entered  at 
length  in  the  book  of  records.  Verbal  reports  were  then 
given  in  addition  to,  or  in  absence  of,  the  written  reports, 
by  any  one  prepared  to  give  intelligence. 

Next  in  order,  usually,  was  the  inquiry  into  the  Christian 
felloAvship  of  those  composing  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and 
of  the  church  with  which  it  convened.  This  was  ascer- 
tained by  a  vote  on  a  motion,  affirming  the  entire  fellow- 
ship of  the  members  with  each  other  ;  or  by  each  one 
stating,  in  few  words,  his  feelings  at  the  time.  If  any 
were  at  variance,  all  further  business  Avas  suspended,  till 
■every  reasonable  'effort  had  been  made  to  act  in  true 
Christian  union.  Religious  services,  often  a  sermon,  clos- 
ed the  exercises  of  the  first  day. 

The  Sabbath  Avas  spent  in  social  and  public  Avorship. 
Large  congregations  attended,  and  when  necessity  com- 
pelled them  to  meet  Avithin  doors,  and  at  a  priA^ate  house, 
they  AA^ere  poorly  accommodated.  Public  serA^ices,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  the  times,  began  early  and  continued 
late.  Tavo  long  sermons  Avere  usually  followed  by  earnest 
exhortations.     At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  service,  the 


1784.]  EXERCISES    OP   THE    Q.    MEETING.  83 

Lord's  supper  Avas  administered,  after  wliicli  those  who 
believed  in  the  "  washing  of  feet,"  often  attended  to  that 
observance.  The  inconvenience  of  administering  the  ordi- 
nances in  the  crowds  of  the  Sabbath,  soon  led  to  their 
postponement  till  the  close  of  the  session. 

On  Monday  business  was  resumed,  and  continued  till  it 
was  finished,  occupying  from  one  to  three  days  more.  A 
daily  sermon  was  usually  preached,  and  revivals  quite 
often  followed.  Much  of  the  business  now  done  in  the 
churches  was  then  carried  up  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting. 
Precedents  were  being  established,  and  those  cautious  men 
sought  wisdom  from  the  counsel  of  all; 

Certificates  were  frequently  given  to  ministers,  laymen 
and  churches,  testifying  that  they  were  "  regular  Bap- 
tists." The  object  of  these  certificates  was  to  relieve  the 
holder  from  the  payment  of  taxes  legally  assessed  by  the 
"  standing  order."  In  1804  it  was  agreed  to  give  certifi- 
cates of  attendance  at  public  worship,  to  men  not  profes- 
sors of  religion,  that  they,  too,  might  be  exempt  from 
taxation. 

The  devotional  element  was  the  controlling  one  with 
the  fathers.  This  fact  accounts  for  the  seasons  of  social 
worship  at  the  opening  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  the 
occasional  suspension  of  business,  in  the  midst  of  its  trans- 
action, for  a  season  of  singing  and  prayer.  At  such  times 
the  poAver  of  God  often  came  down  in  a  most  wonderful 
manner.  At  a  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Edgecomb,  "  after 
much  conference  "  on  the  difiiculty  between  Rev.  D.  Hib- 
bard  and  a  lay  brother,  it  Avas  referred  to  a  committee  of 
five.  No  sooner  AA^as  the  committee  appointed,  than  one 
of  the  number,  Joshua  Coombs,  from  Little  River,  arose 
and  said  that  he  felt  impressed  with  the  belief  that  if  the 
whole  meeting  would  get  down  humbly  before  the  Lord, 
and  call  upon  him  for  help,  the  breach  might  be  healed. 
The  suggestion  Avas  recei\'ed  with  favor,  and  they  all  bow- 
ed before  the  great  Jehovah,  and,  looking  to  Him  AA'ho 
reconciles  man  to  his  Maker,  they  prayed  for  reconciling 


84  THE    QUAKTEKLT   5IEETING.  [1785. 

grace  in  iDehalf  of  these  alienated  brethren.  After  many- 
strong  cries  and  great  travail  of  soul,  the  spirit  of  suppli- 
cation was  withdrawn,  and  the  two  brethren  declared 
themselves  to  be  in  full  union  and  fellowship  with  each 
other.  Business  was  resumed,  and  the  committee  were 
discharged. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting  early  became  a  Biblical  school,^ 
where  the  investigation  of  intricate  texts  and  doctrinal 
questions  was  successfully  prosecuted. 

About  this  time  Hibbard  removed  to  Woolwich,  a  com- 
paratively strong  church,  numbering  eighty-nine  members,, 
and  took  charge  of  the  Westport  church  at  the  same  time, 
Randall  continued  his  itinerant  labors,  and  during  the 
year  *'  travelled  over  a  thousand  miles  on  journeys  in  the 
cause  of  truth."  He  attended  above  three  hundred  meet- 
ings of  worship,  besides  many  of  church  business.  The 
year  closed  with  but  little  revival  interest,  and  the  reports 
speak  of  worldly-mindedness  and  great  backslidings. 

The  year  1785  was  not  without  its  trials.  In  the 
church  at  "Woolwich  there  was  "  some  misunderstanding 
on  points  of  doctrine,  which  caused  coldness."  In  Dur- 
ham the  church  suffered  not  a  little  from  discussions  on 
the  subject  of  predestination.  Love  and  forbearance,  ele- 
ments of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  Christian,  were 
sadly  overlooked.  The  church  in  GeorgetoAvn  was  blessed 
with  some  revival  interest  early  in  the  year,  but,  having 
no  pastor,  many  of  the  converts  fell  by  the  way.  The 
Divine  decrees  became  a. bone  of  contention,  and  extremes 
there  met.  Seeing  no  way  of  reconciling  with  the  Bible 
the  doctrine  that  a  part  only  of  mankind  were  elected  to 
eternal  life,  many  took  the  opposite  error,  and  professed 
to  believe  that  all  were  thus  elected.  These  trials  were 
reported  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  the  Circular  Let- 
ter was  directed  mainly  to  their  correction  ;  especially  the 
last  error. 

Randall  received  a  letter  from  Strafford,  dated  April 
11th,  entreating  him  to  visit  that  place,   saying,  "  The 


1785.]  Whitney's  ordination.  85 

poor  brethren  at  Bow  Pond,"  and  a  few  in  other  parts  of 
the  town  are  resolved  to  arise  and  build.  "  We  want 
thee  to  set  in  order  the  things  that  are  wanting.  Come 
down,  brother  Randall,  and  help  us."  The  letter  was 
laid  before  the  New  Durham  church,  a  sympathizing  an- 
swer returned,  and  the  desired  visit  soon  made.  In  com- 
pliance with  a  request  from  the  first  church  in  Strafibrd, 
Randall  and  others  went  there  August  22d,  and  ordained 
Joseph  Boody,  as  Ruling  Elder.  Boody  was  a  promising 
man,  became  very  prominent  in  town,  and  was  pastor  of 
the  church  for  many  years.  He  preached  extensively, 
though  he  received  no  other  ordination,  and  was  indeed  a 
minister. 

John  Whitney,  of  Gouldsborough,  Me.,  east  of  the 
Penobicot,  went  to  New  Durham  to  attend  the  June  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
He  there  related  his  Christian  experience  and  call  to  the 
ministry.  The  question  of  his  ordination  was  referred  to 
the  next  Quarterly  Meeting,  when  it  was  decided  in  the 
affirmative,  and  he  was  ordained  at  Westport,  September 
7th.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Randall,  from  Acts  5  r 
20,  "  Go  stand  and  speak  in  the  temple  to  the  people,  all 
the  words  of  this  life."  It  was  the  first  ordination  in  the 
New  Connection,  hence,  the  occasion  was  important,  the 
text  appropriate,  and  the  sermon  one  of  great  power.  Wo 
cannot  know  his  method  of  presenting  the  subject,  but 
considering  the  men  and  the  times,  he  doubtless  dwelt  up-= 
on  those  great  truths  which  lay  so  near  his  heart,  and 
were  so  important  for  the  world  to  understand.  Salvation 
would  be  his  theme — Provided  for  "  the  people" — Preach- 
ed by  men  Divinely  called — and  presented  in  all  faithful- 
ness. Tingley  made  the  consecrating  prayer,  Randall 
gave  the  charge,  and  Hibbard  the  hand  of  fellowship.  It 
was  "  a  time  of  most  solemn,  melting  power ;"  and  the 
divine  seal  being  thus  placed  upon  their  movements  as  the 
first  man  was  inducted  into  the  ministry,  they  were  greatly 
encouraged. 
8 


86  THE    QUARTERLY  MEETING.  [1785. 

Whitney  was  nearly  thirty  years  in  the  ministry,  and 
very  useful  as  an  evangelist.  He  never  excelled  in  argu- 
ment, or  in  elucidating  a  doctrinal  question,  but  his  life 
and  being  were  consecrated  to  God,  and  few  men  have 
been  more  successful  in  stimulating  Christians,  or  awak- 
ening sinners.  He  travelled  most  of  the  time,  and  met 
with  much  opposition,  but  God  was  with  him,  and  refor- 
mations  attended  his  labors  wherever  he  went.  The  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  letter  dated  at  Edgecomb,  and  sent 
to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  soon  after  this,  will  show  the 
spirit  of  the  man  : 

"  Dearly  Beloved  Brethren  : — 

"  By  divine  leave,  I  embrace  this  opportunity  to  let 
you  know  that  the  Lord  hath  dealt  very  bountifully  with 
me  since  last  I  saw  your  face — glory  to  his  great  name, 
I  can  tell  you,  dear  brethren,  that  the  cause  of  Christ  is 
sweet  to  my  soul ;  and  the  more  we  suffer  for  that  lovely 
name,  Jesus,  the  more  precious  he  is  to  us.  O  he  is  the 
lovely  of  lovelies.  My  soul  is  ravished  with  his  beauties  ^ 
and  while  I  am  writing,  I  long  to  see  and  hear  that  his 
glorious  gospel  is  spreading  from  shore  to  shore.  O  my 
heart  is  pained  to  see  poor  sinners  slight  the  dear  Re- 
deemer's dying  love,  and  destroy  their  souls. 

But  I  can  tell  you  good  news.  Satan's  kingdom  trem- 
bles, and  Jesus,  our  dear  Lord,  still  reigns.  The  goings 
of  our  God  are  to  be  seen  in  a  most  glorious  manner. 
Saints  are  rejoicing,  and  sinners  are  flocking  to  the  ark. 
In  the  midst  of  this,  I  have  fightings  without  and  fears 
within,  but,  glory  to  God,  he  fights  the  battles  for  me,  and 
gives  me  the  victory.  Dear  brethren,  I  would  charge  you 
to  be  faithful  in  the  cause  of  our  dear  Jesus,  and  act  for 
the  living  God  at  all  times." 

During  the  summer,  Tingley  and  "Whitney  travelled  in- 
to many  of  the  frontier  settlements  in  Maine,  where  sin- 
ners were  converted,  and  a  few  churches  were  formed. 
At  the  September  Quarterly  Meeting,  reports  were  receiv- 


1786.3  CHURCH   AT   EDGECOMB.  87 

ed,  for  the  first  time,  from  New  Canaan    [now  Liacoln- 
ville],  and  from  Number  Four  [now  Paris]. 

By  mutual  consent,  the  winter  term  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  was  removed  from  Hollis  to  Gorham,  and  the 
church  there  was  found  to  be  in  a  distracted  state.  Pea.ce 
and  union  were  restored,  and  from  this  meeting  prosperity 
attended  the  church  for  a  season. 

The  Circular  Letters  were  not  sent  with  any  regularity 
after  the  year  1785^  The  last  one  of  this  year  reproves 
the  churches  for  neglecting  their  meetings  of  business  and 
worship,  and  admonishes  them  to  greater  promptness  in 
sending  delegates  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting. 

Randall  closes  his  narrative  for  the  year,  by  saying,  "  I 
have  travelled  above  twelve  hundred  miles  in  the  service 
of  truth,  and  have  attended  above  three  hundred  meetings. 
My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  give  glory  to  his 
great  name." 

A  few  churches  enjoyed  refreshing  seasons  in  1786,  but 
declension  generally  prevailed.  The  church  at  New  Dur- 
ham was  wading  through  severe  trials,  and  several  cases 
of  discipline  were  exceedingly  perplexing.  The  church  at 
Squam  Island  [now  Westport]  invited  Hibbard  to  settle 
there  about  this  time,  which  invitation  he  accepted,  and 
soon  after  ceased  his  itinerant  labors^  That  church  was 
in  great  trials  ;  one  of  the  leading  members  was  heretical, 
and  others  were  under  his  influence  ;  but  after  his  rejec- 
tion, prosperity  again  smiled.  A  church  of  about  twenty 
members  was  now  organized  at  Edgecomb  "  on  the  main" 
(some  of  the  members  living  in  Boothbay),  by  Hibbard, 
assisted  by  Whitney,  who  was  now  living  there. 

The  Calvinistic  Baptist  churches  in  New  Hampshire 
and  Maine,  having  united  in  an  Association,  and  the 
prospect  of  a  reiinion  with  them  being  not  yet  a  forlorn 
hope,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  now  agreed  to  send  that  body 
^  fraternal  letter..  If  nothing  more  could  be  attained  than 
the  cultivation  of  Christian  union,  it  was  believed  that  the 
efibrt  would  not  be  lost ;  so  the  following  letter  was  pre- 


88  THE   QUABTEELT   MEETING.  [1786. 

pared,  approved  and  sent ;  Randall  alone  voting  in  the 
negative.  We  may  speculate  upon  the  reasons  that  may 
have  led  him  to  differ  from  all  his  brethren  on  this  ques- 
tion, but  shall  probably  never  know  whether  his  objec- 
tions lay  against  the  principle,  the  spirit,  or  the  letter  of 
the  correspondence. 

"  To  the  New  Hampshire  Association  : — 

"  Dearly  beloved  in  our  all-glorious  Immanuel — Find- 
ing our  hearts  glow  and  expand  with  love  and  pity  towards 
the  world  of  mankind,  and  with  complacency  towards  all 
of  every  name  and  denomination,  where  we  find  the  divine 
image  and  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bonds  of  peace  ; 
and  finding  ourselves  sweetly  bound  to  do  good  to  aU  men, 
and  to  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil,  we  hereby  tes- 
tify our  desire  and  prayer  for  your  prosperity  in  every 
thing  which  is  for  God's  glory  and  the  good  of  precious 
souls  ;  and  that  all  stumbling-blocks  found  with  us,  or 
you,  may  be  removed.  We  wish  that  all  shyness,  evil- 
surmising,  or  evil-thinking,  in  any  of  your  hearts,  or  our 
own,  against  our  neighbor  or  brother,  may  be  forever  ex- 
pelled. Let  us  mutually  lay  aside  every  weight,  and 
constantly  set  the  Lord,  the  worth  of  his  cause  and  immor- 
tal souls,  befoi'e  our  eyes. 

"  O,  let  us  work  while  the  day  lasts,  and  labor  wholly 
for  God.  Let  us  be  exceedingly  careful  in  thought,  word 
and  action,  that  we  do  not  reproach  the  character  of 
Jehovah,  who  '  is  no  respecter  of  persons,'  but  '  who 
would  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  come  unto  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth.'  Our  hearts  and  doors  have  been,  and 
still  are,  open  to  the  messengers  of  the  meek  and  blessed 
Jesus,  of  whatever  name.  We  pray  for,  and  rejoice  in,  the 
advancing  reign  of  Him  who  is  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of 
lords. 

"From  your  sincere  friends  of  the  Baptist  Quarterly 
Meeting,  held  at  New  Durham  June  3,  1786. 

"Pelatiah  Tinglet,   Clerk." 


1787.]  ORDINATIONS.  89 

This  letter,  in  spirit  and  the  manly  avowal  of  truth, 
speaks  for  itself,  and  is  worthy  of  those  good  men.  An 
answer  was  received,  and  a  reply  returned  ;  but,  further 
than  this,  we  know  nothing  of  the  correspondence.  Hav- 
ing made  the  first  overtures  towards  friendly  relations, 
and  replied  to  the  answer  received,  our  fathers  were  no 
more  censurable  for  the  continuance  of  a  separation  in  the 
Baptist  ranks,  than  for  its  commencement. 

At  the  December  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Gorham,  Sam- 
uel Thombs  of  that  town,  a  man  of  excellent  spirit  and 
useful  life,  was  ordained  as  Ruling  Elder  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  Andrew  Cobb  and  Greorge  Hamlin  were  ordain- 
ed as  Deacons-  Dea.  Cobb  was  devoted  to  the  service  of 
his  Master,  and  the  interests  of  the  rising  denomination. 
He  spared  no  pains  in  attending  the  Quarterly  Meetings, 
and  several  times  entertained  it  at  his  own  house.  Re- 
quests were  presented  for  other  ordinations,  but,  nfjindful 
of  the  injunction,  "  Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man,"  they 
•  were  postponed  for  further  consideration.  And  this  prac- 
tice of  postponement  from,  at  least,  the  first  Quarterly 
Meeting,  was  the  more  common  usage  ;  and,  indeed,  it 
was  universal,  when  the  candidate  was  not  well  known. 

A  remarkable  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  was  experienced 
in  Royalsborough,  Me.,  in  1787,  amid  great  opposition  ; 
and  the  labors  of  Whitney  were  greatly  blessed  in  -the 
"  eastern  country."  The  year  was  noted  for  comparative 
freedom  from  church  trials,  though  too  many  were  dispos- 
ed to  live  with  but  little  religion.  Randall  spent  most  of 
his  time  at  home,  and  some  revival  interest  was  enjoyed 
there.  A  number  of  people  belonging  to  Pittsfield,  N. 
H.,  and  considered  as  a  branch  of  the  New  Durham 
church,  had  sustained  a  meeting  at  the  former  place  most 
of  the  time  since  1780,^  and,  at  their  request,  Randall  and 
others  visited  them,  August  2d,  when  Daniel  Philbrick 
was  ordained  as  Ruling  Elder,  and  the  supper  was  admin- 
istered, 

2  New  Durham  Church  Records,  Vol.  I.,  p.  42, 
8* 


90  THE   QUAKTERLT   MEETING.  [1788. 

A  council  of  ministers  met  with  the  church  in  Gray, 
Me.,  October  2d,  and  ordained  as  an  evangelist,  Nathan 
Merrill  of  that  town.  Randall  preached  the  sermon,  and 
gave  the  charge,  and  Tingley  gave  the  hand  of  fellowship. 
"  Merrill  ran  well  for  a  while."  Stinchfield  says,  "  He 
had  been  useful  to  the  church  by  occupying  his  proper 
gift,  which  was  that  of  exhortation." 

While  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  in  session  at  Gorham, 
the  place  of  his  residence,  James  McCorson  was  set  apart 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  December  4th.  Hibbard 
preached  an  appropriate  sermon  from  1  Tim.  4  :  16, 
"  Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  unto  the  doctrine,"  &c. 
Weeks  gave  the  charge,  and  Randall  the  hand  of  fellow- 
ship. McCorson  was  born  in  the  Fort  at  Gorham,  in 
1748,  a  time  of  war  with  the  Indians.  He  travelled  but 
little,  yet  was  useful  as  a  pastor. 

A  Jitter  from  the  Clerk  of  the  church  in  Strafford 
[CroAvn  Point],  asking  for  help,  called  Randall  there 
March  26th,  1788,  who  visited  through  the  neighborhood, 
and  thirteen  of  the  old  members  covenanted  together  as 
follows  : 

"We,  whose  names  are  hereunder  ■«Titten,  do  covenant 
and  promise  to  walk  together  in  love  and  fellowship.  We 
agree  to  take  the  Scriptures  of  truth  as  the  rule  of  our 
practice  respecting  our  duty  to  God,  our  neighbors,  and 
ourselves." 

Whitney  travelled  extensively  in  the  "  eastern  country," 
where  the  good  work  was  progressing  ;  and  at  Lewiston 
there  was  quite  a  religious  interest  under  his  labors, 
where  several  were  baptized,  and  a  social  meeting  estab- 
lished. About  this  time  he  located  his  family  in  Leeds, 
where  he  resided  for  several  years.  He  went  up  the 
Kennebec,  into  the  wilderness  country  of  that  region, 
and  at  Canaan  found  a  few  Christians,  scattered  rem- 
nants of  a  band  that  once  reported  itself  to  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  three  years  before.  These,  with  others  then 
converted,  were  organized  as  a  church.     He  also  organized 


1789.]         QUARTERLY  MEETING  AT   PARSONSFIELD.  91 

churches  at  Bristol  and  Seguntecook  [now  Camden],  the 
same  year,  or  at  a  time  shortly  previous.  This  second 
church  in  Bristol  sent  a  letter  to  the  September  Quarterly 
Meeting  in  "Westport,  desiring  farther  acquaintance  before 
uniting.  Chosen  brethren  were  accordingly  sent,  who, 
after  a  happy  conference,  gave  them  the  hand  of  fellow- 
ship. 

The  reports  from  the  churches  this  year  were  more  en- 
couraging, and  the  sessions  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  un- 
usually interesting.  Revivals  were  enjoyed  in  Parsonsfield, 
Cornish,  and  Buxton,  and  during  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
at  Edgecomb,  ten  were  baptized.  Randall,  as  usual,  visr 
ited  the  churches  in  Maine  in  connection  with  his  attend- 
ance at  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  was  greatly  encour- 
aged amid  the  general  gloom  that  had  so  long  overhung 
this  branch  of  Zion.  But  sorrow  was  mingled  with  their 
joys,  for  at  this  meeting  was  received  the  painful  intelli- 
gence that  Dea.  Gilman  Lougee,  of  Parsonsfield,  a  good 
man,  was  no  more.  He  departed  this  life  very  suddenly, 
a  few  weeks  before,  by  the  falling  of  a  rock  upon  him 
while  at  work  in  a  clay  pit,  and  his  death  was  deplored. 

William  Irish,  of  Gray,  was  ordained  as  Ruling  Elder 
in  1789.  He  was  a  useful  man,  not  only  in  his  own 
church,  but  in  establishing  meetings  in  other  towns. 

The  March  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  re- 
moved from  New  Gloucester  to  Parsonsfield,  and  was  to 
have  convened  on  the  7th  instant,  at  the  house  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Weeks  ;  but  a  snow  storm  had  rendered  the  roads 
impassable,  and  only  a  few  neighbors  came  together.  A 
sermon,  however,  was  preached  by  Weeks,  from  the  words 
of  Elijah  to  Ahab,  "  Get  thee  up,  eat  and  drink,  for  there 
is  a  sound  of  abundance  of  rain."  Christians  discerned 
the  gathering  cloud,  their  faith  was  strengthened,  and 
their  hearts  encouraged.  Randall  arrived  in  the  evening, 
and  the  next  day  being  the  Sabbath,  the  meeting  was  held 
at  Amos  Blazo's,  in  that  part  of  the  town  where  the  Sem- 
inary now  stands.   His  sermons  were  followed  by  "  weighty 


92  THE    QUARTERLY   MEETING.  [1789. 

exhortations,"  sinners  cried  for  mercy,  and  saints  rejoiced 
in  God.  One  or  more  sermons  were  preached  each  day 
during  the  session,  with  increasing  interest.  Of  this 
meeting,  Randall  made  the  following  entry  in  his  journal : 
"  The  power  of  the  Lord  was  wonderfully  displayed  in  the 
conviction  and  conversion. of  souls.  Perhaps  nothing  ever 
exceeded  it  in  these  latter  days.  A  great  number  were 
pricked  in  their  hearts,  and  cried  like  one  anciently, 
'  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?'  "  An  extensive  revival 
followed.  Had  Weeks  and  the  church  yielded  to  disap- 
pointment, when  it  was  found  that  none  from  abroad  would 
be  likely  to  come,  the  result  would  probably  have  been  far 
different.  Their  worship  on  Saturday  prepared  the  Avay 
of  the  Lord,  and  he  came  in  the  power  of  his  saving  grace. 


OBJECT  OF  DECADE   CHAPTEES.  93 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  FIRST  DECADE. 

1780—1790. 

Object  of  Decade  Chapters — ^Review — Statistics — Constitution  of  the 
Church — ^Ruling  Elders — ^Free  Communion — Washing  Feet — Church 
Stock — Persecutions. 

The  history  of  the  church  very  naturally  resolves  itself 
into  two  divisions — the  internal  and  external  work.  By 
the  former  is  here  meant  her  constitution,  ordinances, 
doctrines,  worship,  discipline,  usages,  and  other  denomi- 
national characteristics.  The  latter  refers  to  her  ministry 
and  their  labors,  the  churches  and  their  standing,  the  gen- 
eral field  of  Christian  effort,  and  the  local  incidents  of 
historical  interest.  The  fundamental  principles  on  which 
the  denomination  rests,  were  briefly  stated  in  Section  II. 
of  the  Introduction,  and  that  being  done,  the  external 
phase  of  the  history  first  presents  itself  for  consideration. 
In  examining  this,  it  seems  well  to  pause  every  ten  years, 
and  not  only  survey  the  ground  over  which  we  have  pass- 
ed, but  look  into  the  church,  and  acquaint  ourselves  with 
her  internal  position,  arrangements,  and  general  means 
of  efficiency.  This  will  be  the  object  of  the  Decade  Chap- 
ters. 

We  are  now  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  founders  of 
the  denomination.  One  of  the  clergymen  remained  inde- 
pendent of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  one  has  fallen  ;  the 
other  eight  are  active  laborers.  The  stand-point  from 
which  their  position  and  action  should  be  viewed  has 
been  shown  ;  and  the  success  of  their  first  efforts  has  been 


94  THE    FIRST   DECADE. 

stated.  We  have  been  over  the  field  of  their  operations,  and 
seen  tAventy-two  churches  rise  and  struggle,  sometimes  for 
enlargement,  and  sometimes  for  their  very  existence. 
Four  of  these  churches — Loudon,  Tamworth,  Acton,  and 
Scarborough — are  supposed  to  have  lost  their  visibility 
before  1790,  and  none  were  organized  to  take  their  place  ; 
but  the  other  eighteen  were  lights  in  their  several  locali- 
ties, shining  with  more  or  less  strength.  We  have  seen 
them  united  in  Quarterly  Meeting  organization,  and  per- 
manently established  as  a  Christian  people. 

The  Statistics  at  the  close  of  the  first  decade  cannot  be 
a,scertained  with  certainty,  but  an  approximation  is  possi- 
ble. The  estimated  number  of  members  was  four  hun- 
dred, and  the  number  of  churches,  active  and  efiicient, 
eighteen.  There  were  eight  Ordained  Ministers,  seven 
Unordained,  and  nine  Ruling  Elders. 

The  old  churches  in  Loudon,  Strafford,  and  Acton,  had 
been  free  churches,  but  had  never  associated  with  the 
others  as  a  denomination,  and,  having  lost  their  visibility, 
are  not  inserted  below.  The  following  Table  presents  the 
churches  in  chronological  order,  Avith  the  former  name  of 
the  place  in  italics,  enclosed  in  parentheses.  The  name  of 
each  minister  is  set  against  the  church  Avitli  Avhich  he  is 
known,  or  supposed  to  have  been  connected.  Ruling  El- 
ders, so  far  as  knoAATi,  are  inserted  Avith  unordained  preach- 
ers, the  latter  in  italics. 


STATISTICAL    TABLE. 


95 


STATISTICAL  TABLE  IN  1790. 


Churches. 


Ministers. 


Ruling  Elders  and 
TJnordained   Preach- 


1780.  New  Durham,  N.  H., 


"     HoUis,  Me. 
(Little  Falls.) 

1781.  Tamworth,  N.  H.* 
"     North  Strafford,  N.H., 

(1  Barrinffton.) 
"  Woolwich,  Me., 
"     Georgetown,  Me., 

{Parker's  Island.) 
"     Westport,  Me., 

{Squam  Island,  part  of 
Edgecomb.) 
"     Bristol,  Me. 
"     Gorham,  Me., 

"     Scarborough,  Me.* 

{Dunston.) 
"     JDurham,  Me., 

{Little  River.) 

1782.  Gray  &  New  Glouces- 

ter Me. 

1783.  2  Strafford,  N.  H., 
(Barrington,  C'n  Ft.) 

"     Parsonsiield,  Me., 

1785.  Lincolnville,  Me. 
{New  Canaan.) 

"     Paris,  Me. 

{Number  Four.) 

1786.  Edgecomb,  Me., 
1788.  Canaan,  Me. 

"     2  Bristol,  Me. 

{RedforcV s  Island.) 
"     Cam'bden,  Me. 

{Seguntecook.) 


Benjamin  Kandall, 

Joseph  Boody. 

Daniel  Hibbard, 
James  McCorson, 

Nathan  Merrill, 
Samiiel  Weeks. 

John  Whitney. 


Pelatiah  Tingley, 
{of  Waterboro',  Me. 


[Joseph  Boody,  Jr., 
Nathaniel  Buzzell, 
Samuel  Tasker, 
James  Runnells, 

\Isaac  Townsend. 


Eben.  Brookings,  Jr, 
Thornas  Stilhoell. 
David  Oliver. 
John  Dunton. 


John  Cotton. 
Samuel  Thombs. 


Levi  Temple. 


WilHam  Irish. 
Micajah  Otis. 


Daniel  Philbrick, 
{of  Pittsjield,  N.  H.) 

Joseph  Hutchinson, 
{of  Windham,  Me.) 


20  Churches. 


*  Probably  extinct 


8  Ministers. 


1 9  Ruling  Elders. 
17  TJjiord.  Preachers, 


96  THE   FIRST  DECADE. 

The   Constitution  of  the   church  first  claims  our  atten- 
tion as  we  look  into  her  internal  arrangements.     The  de- 
velopment of  the  Old  Testament  church  was  inward,  from 
the  external  rites  and  ceremonies  ;  while  that  of  the  New, 
was  outward,  from  the  heart.     The  same  difierence  exist- 
ed between  the  formality  of  the   "  standing  order"  and 
the  spirituality  of  this  free  branch  of  the  Baptists.     Con- 
secration, continuous  and   entire,  was  the  spirit  of  their 
lives  ;  and,  if  taught  in  a  manner  less  formal  than  now,  it 
was  taught  none  the  less  successfully.    They  Christianized 
the  idea  of  Pythagoras,  as  he  said,  "  We  are  always  hap- 
piest when  we  approach  the  gods."     So  close  was  their 
walk  with  the  living  God,  that  they  recognized  his  special 
providences,  and  usually  lived   above  the  world,  in  that 
spiritual  atmosphere  where  all  is  light,  life,  peace  and  joy. 
Christ,  the  author  of  their  salvation,  was  always  placed 
in  the  front  ground  of  man's  contemplation,  and  around 
him  was  seen  to  cluster  aU  the  glories  of  redemption. 
Nothing  was   attempted  till  the  alienated  branches  were 
restored  and  grafted  into  Christ,  the  living  vine.     Till  the 
spirit  of  adoption  was  put  into  their  hearts,  and  Christ  was 
in  them,  not  only  the  hope  of  glory,  but  working  "  both 
to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure."     The  inward  work 
— the  work  of  the  Spirit  on  the  heart,  the  absolutely  es- 
sential work  of  regeneration  and  divine  guidance — was 
clearly  and  strongly  urged.     So   correct  and  complete,  so 
scriptural  and  experimental,  were  their  views  of  the  inner 
and  higher  life,  and  so  familiar  were  they  with  its  practi- 
cal workings,  that  the  wisdom  of  all  subsequent  men  and 
times,  has  failed  to  present  it  in  a  more  impressive  light. 
It  was  this  endowment  from  on  high  that  gave  them  effi- 
ciency ;  and  for  its  preservation  in  the  church,  their  care 
was  most  vigilant,  and  their  efforts  untiring. 

This  working  spirit  within,  necessarily  produced  effects 
without.  And  this  making  outward — the  manifestations 
of  the  inner  work — were  gi-eatly  circumstantial.  There 
was  no  carefully  devised  arrangement  for  presenting  the 


CONSTITUTION   OP   THE   CHURCH.  97 

church  outwardly  in  her  most  commanding  influence. 
This  was  rather  overlooked,  in  the  all-absorbing  interest 
with  which  her  inward  life  and  power  were  cherished. 
The  development  of  the  inner  life,  modified,  as  it  was,  by 
the  circumstances  of  the  times,  was  not  alv^ays  without 
error,  or  excess.  These  wholly  outward  manifestations 
were  afterwards,  in  some  respects,  changed  and  improved, 
as  time  and  experience  suggested.  But  if  the  church  out- 
wardly has  undergone  slight  changes  in  her  mode  of  wor- 
ship and  means  of  usefulness,  it  is  hoped  and  believed 
that  inwardly  her  constitution  and  spirit  remain  untouch- 
ed. It  would  be  better  for  herself  and  the  world,  to  go 
back  to  all  the  positions  of  the  fathers,  than  to  lose  their 
spirit  in  the  correction  of  their  forms.  But  we  need  not 
err  in  either  respect.  We  need  not  lose  the  divine  spirit 
with  which  they  were  energized,  nor  adhere  to  their  usages 
when  a  change  in  times  and  circumstances  suggests  a 
better  way.  The  spirit  of  Christianity  is  divine,  and,  like 
its  Author,  is  immutable.  The  manner  of  its  manifesta- 
tions, and  of  applying  the  means  for  its  advancement,  is 
hitman,  and,  therefore,  subject  to  change  and  improve- 
ment. 

Tenacious  as  the  fathers  were  for  the  spiritual  interests 
of  the  church,  they  were  not  indifferent  to  her  welfare  as 
externally  constituted.  They  believed  in  the  formal  or- 
ganization of  local  churches  ;  and  the  act  was  one  of  sol- 
emn interest.  There  is  no  evidence  that  baptism  was 
administered  to  those  who  declined  to  unite  with  the 
church  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  some,  baptized  by  Randall, 
united  with  the  New  Durham  church,  when  they  lived 
twenty-five  miles  distant. 

A  Monthly  Meeting  was  established  at  the  organization 
of  a  church,  at  which  all  members  were  expected  to  be 
present  and  speak  of  their  Christian  experience,  and  test 
their  fellowship  with  each  other.  Exhortation,  confession, 
prayer,  and  praise,  were  appropriate  exercises,  and  some- 
9 


9S  THE   FIRST  DECADE, 

times  business  was  transacted,  but  more  generally  cburcfe 
meetings  were  held  for  that  express  purpose.  They  be- 
lieved, with  the  Puritans,  that  every  church,  when  fully 
organized,  should  have  a  Pastor,  Ruling  Elder,  Deacon 
and  Clerk. 

The  Muling  Elder  had  his  duties  specified  in  the  old 
Cambridge  Platform,  and  they  were,  '''^to  assist  the  pastor 
in  such  acts  of  rule  as  are  distinct  from  the  ministry  of 
the  word  and  sacraments."  And  the  old  divines  add,  "  to 
pray  with  the  congregation  and  expound  the  Scriptures  "" 
in  the  absence  of  the  minister.  The  office  was  soon  un- 
recognized by  the  Puritans,  but  Randall  had  two  Ruling 
Elders  ordained  in  the  New  Durham  church  at  the  time 
of  its  organization.  As  the  first  ministers  were  evange- 
lists, and  most  of  the  churches  had  no  pastor  with  them, 
there  was  a  kind  of  necessity  in  selecting  one  or  more  of 
the  most  judicious  members  to  perform  the  pastoral  du- 
ties. They  occasionally  administered  the  ordinances,  and 
in  1785  the  Quarterly  Meeting  agreed  that  they  '^'  should 
be  very  cautious  in  seeing  that  such  members  as  they  may 
baptize,  be  soon  added  to  some  branch  under  their  watch 
and  care  ;  and  that  the  administration  of  the  ordinances 
by  a  Ruling  Elder,  ordinarily  be  in  the  absence  of  a 
Teaching  Elder  only."  By  vote  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, the  Ruling  Elder  was  the  standing  moderator  of  the 
church. 

Several  of  the  churches  organized  by  Randall  were  at 
fii'st  regarded  as  branches  of  the  New  Durham  church, 
^ough  when  he  was  present  as  pastor,  each  transacted  its 
business  a»  an  independent  body. 

After  the  organization  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  the 
churches  surrendered  to  that  body  the  right  of  rejecting 
members,  and  of  final  action  in  all  cases  of  difficult  labor. 
The  Quarterly  Meeting  exercised  its  authority  in  both 
these  respects  for  twenty  years.  It  seems  to  have  been 
regarded  as  the  church,  while  the  local  churches  were  gen- 
erally called  branches,  or  Monthly  Meetings, 


DISCIPLINE,  W 

The  Discipline  of  many  of  the  first  churches  was  strict 
:and  extensive ;  some  of  them  being  seldom  free  from 
church  labor.  If  no  satisfaction  could  be  obtained  from 
an  offending  member  by  private  interviews,  the  grief  was 
laid  before  the  church,  and  an  effort  made  through  a  com- 
mittee. Failing  in  this,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  then 
asked  to  assist,  and  some  of  the  most  skilful  were  sent  to 
the  church.  Next,  the  offending  member  was  laid  under 
a  written  admonition,  borne  to  him  by  a.  faithful  brother  ; 
•and  this  was  sometimes  repeated.  AU  this  effort  was  not 
too  much  for  saving  a  fallen  member.  But  the  Scriptural 
rule  of  first  seeking  a  personal  reconciliation  was  not 
strictly  observed  ;  for  the  test  of  fellowship  usually  taken 
at  the  Monthly  Meeting,  and  at  every  session  of  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  often  brought  the  trial  prematurely  befoi» 
the  public.  It  is  quite  certain  that  many  improprieties 
which  are  now  suffered  to  pass  unnoticed,  or  are  corrected 
by  individual  effort,  wer«  then  brought  at  once  before  th« 
church. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting  set  the  churches  a  worthy  ex- 
ample in  regard  to  discipline.      At  one  of  its  sessions  "  it 

was  voted  that  N M be   admonished  for   anger, 

peevishness  and.  swapping  horses,  which  was  done  by  the 
Moderator  in  a  very  solemn  manner."  The  Quarterly 
Meeting  not  only  investigated  and  settled  all  difficulties,  if 
possible,  between  its  own  members,  and  in  the  church 
where  it  convened,  but  it  sometimes  adjourned  from  place 
to  place  for  this  purpose  ;  as  in  1786,  when  it  adjourned 
from  Westport  to  Georgetown,  and  thence  to  Woolwich. 

The  wearing  -of  ornaments,  and  a  manifest  spirit  of  con- 
formity to  the  world,  were  decidedly  disapproved.  Per- 
sonal and  public  efforts  were  made  to  correct  this  growing 
evil ;  and  not  onlj  by  the  example  of  Randall  and  others, 
font  by  labor  in  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  a  plain  uniformity 
in  dress  was  sought. 

Free  Communion  was  not  at  first  advocated  in  the  free 
♦division  of  the  Baptists  ;  and  yet  no  due  to  any  sentiment 


100  THE   FIKST   DECADE. 

in  conflict  with  it  can  be  found.  The  great  controversy 
among  Baptists  then  involved  only  three  questions — perse- 
verance, the  freedom  of  the  will,  and  the  extent  of  the 
atonement.  With  the  Congregationalists,  it  involved  three 
additional  questions — ^baptism,  personal  piety,  and  minis- 
t-erial  support.  The  want  of  sympathy  between  the  Con- 
gregationalists and  the  Baptists  had  led  each  body  to  desire 
communion  only  with  those  of  its  o^vn  sect ;  hence,  the 
communion  question  was  not  a  practical  one.  But  it  early 
came  up  for  consideration.  At  a  conference  in  the  New 
Durham  church,  September  12,  1781,  all  seem  to  have 
been  agreed  in  the  propriety  of  communing  with  such  as 
had  been  immersed.  But  wishing  to  be  right  in  their  po- 
sition towards  all  Christians,  this  inquiry  was  raised  :  "Is 
it  duty  to  commune  occasionally  with  such  as  have  not 
been  baptized  by  immersion  ?"  "  After  long  labor  it  was 
referred  for  further  consideration,"  and  resumed  at  another 
conference  the  same  week.  The  discussion  involved  anoth- 
er question  which  took  precedence  for  the  time,  and  the 
subject  of  communion  was  Avaived. 

At  the  second  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  held  in 
March,  1784,  the  Woolwich  church  introduced  the  subject 
by  asking  this  question  :  "  Is  it  right  to  commune  occa- 
sionally with  persons  who  have  never  been  baptized  by  im- 
mersion ?"  This  was  not  a  question  of  policy,  but  princi- 
ple ;  "  Is  it  right  to  commune"  with  such  ?  The  answer 
shows  the  great  caution  of  those  men  in  taking  a  position 
in  advance  of  all  others,  before  they  clearly  saw  the  Scrip- 
ture ground  on  which  to  stand.  They  said,  "It  is  the 
mind  of  the  meeting  that  we  need  not  trouble  ourselves 
about  this  question  now,  as  we  have  never  had  any  trial 
with  it."  The  rea,son  for  this  conservative  answer  is  con- 
tained in  the  answer  itself;  "  we  have  never  had  any  trial 
with  it  [proposed  communion  with  persons  sprinkled] ,  and 
when  we  do,  it  will  then  be  time  enough  to  labor  on  it,  and 
act  as  we  shall  find  duty."  As  there  were  none  at  this 
time  who  would  condescend  to  commune  with  this  despised 


WASHING  1PEET>  lOl 

people,  the  declaration  of  open  communion  would  then  ob- 
\y  have  rendered  them  stiil  more  obnoxions  in  the  eyes  of 
■others.  But  the  question  soon  became  a  practical  one  in 
New  Durham,  and  then  there  was  no  hesitancy  in  meeting 
it.  Early  in  1785  the  church  voted  that  "  We  believe  it 
duty,  for  the  future,  to  give  leave  to  such  brethren  as  are 
not  baptized  by  immersion,  whom  we  fellowship  in  the 
spirit,  to  commune  with  us  occasionally  if  they  desire  it ; 
and  to  have  the  liberty  of  all  church  privileges,"  They 
believed  it  '■'■duty"  to  have  an  open  door  to  the  Lord's  ta- 
ble, for  aU  "approved  Christians,  who  "  desire"  to  come. 
■"  The  liberty  of  aU  church  privikges,"  evidently  had  ref- 
erence to  those  of  worship,  so  that  while  they  were  knowa 
as  Baptists,  they  showed  themselves  to  be  free  Baptists, 

In  December  following,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  agreed 
*'  to  receive  such  as  we  have  satisfectory  evidence  to  be- 
lieve are  united  to  Christ  by  a  living  faith,  are  tender  to 
know  duty  and  do  it,  and  are  willing  to  be  under  disci- 
pline." This  agreement  was  unanimous,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  licensed  exhorter ;  and  the  next  year  it  was 
reconsidered,  and  unanimously  re-affirmed.  Three  years 
after  this  is  the  first  record  of  "  a  general  invllation  being 
given."  Thus  early  and  permanently  was  the  question  of 
communion  settled  on  the  broad  basis  of  Christian  char- 
acter, where  John  Bunyan  had  placed  it  one  hundred  years 
before,  and  in  defence  of  this  position  Robert  Hall  wag 
then  a  strong  advocate.  It  was  regarded  as  an  ordinance 
of  the  gospel,  to  which  all  true  believers  had  a  right ;  and 
yet,  as  pre-requisites,  the  mode  of  baptism  was  ignored, 
church  membership  implied,  and  a  spirit  of  faithful  obe- 
dience required. 

The  "  Washing  of  Feet"  as  a  gospel  ordinance,  was  nev- 
er received  with  universal  favor.  When  the  subject  of 
free  communion  was  first  considered  in  the  New  Durham 
church,  in  1781,  this  question  was  introduced,  and  for  two 
or  three  years  elicited  great  interest,  and  diverse  feelings. 
The  church  did  not  declare  it  obligatory  upon  Christians, 
9* 


102  THE    FIRST   DECADE. 

but,  in  a  tolerant  spirit,  "  Voted,  Liberty  to  those  that  be- 
lieve it  duty  '  to  wash  one  another's  feet.'  "  Nathaniel 
Buzzell,  a  Ruling  Elder,  and  Deacon  Davis  were  grieved 
with  this  action,  and,  after  meeting,  gave  free  expression 
to  their  feelings.  A  conference  was  called  the  next  Sab- 
bath, "  between  meetings,"  when  they  publicly  objected  to 
the  act  of  washing  feet,  as  an  innovation  among  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  gospel.  Nothing  could  be  done  to  effect  a 
reconciliation,  and  they  left  the  meetings.  In  January, 
1782,  Buzzell  confessed  his  want  of  charity  towards  those 
who  felt  it  duty  to  observe  the  washing  of  fsfet,  and  was 
restored  amid  great  rejoicings.  A  kind  letter  of  admoni- 
tion from  Randall  in  June,  written  by  vote  of  the  church, 
touched  the  heart  of  Davis,  and  he  was  restored. 

For  many  years  this  rite  continued  to  be  observed  by 
the  ministry,  in  connection  with  communion  at  Quarterly 
and  Yearly  Meetings,  but  its  observance  was  left  optional 
with  all.  It  was  never  observed  with  any  great  frequency 
or  regularity  ;  the  first  instance  on  record  being  at  North 
Strafford  in  1783.  Many  churches  provided  themselves 
with  a  couple  of  basins,  and  a  supply  of  napkins,  and,  af- 
ter communion,  it  was  often  customary  for  the  male  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  who  believed  in  the  practice  as  an  or- 
dinance, to  gather  into  a  group  by  themselves,  with  one  of 
the  basins  and  a  part  of  the  towels,  and  there,  not  only 
show,  but  cultivate  humility,  by  washing  and  wiping  each 
other's  feet.  The  females,  by  themselves  in  another  part 
of  the  house,  did  the  same.  The  foot  was  held  over  the 
basin,  a  little  water  in  the  hand  was  poured  upon  it,  and 
then  it  Avas  wiped  dry  ;  and  thus  the  ceremony  did  not  oc- 
cupy a  minute's  time  with  each  person.  It  was  claimed 
by  those  who  entered  heartily  into  this  observance,  that  it 
was  often  among  the  most  precious  seasons  of  their  ex- 
perience. 

A  more  careful  investigation  of  the  subject,  and  consid- 
eration of  oriental  customs,  led  to  the  conclusion  generally, 
that  Christ  enjoined  the  practice  upon  his  disciples,  not  as 


CHURCH   STOCK.  103 

a  religious  rite,  but  an  act  of  hospitality,  that  would  call 
into  exercise  their  Christian  humility.  The  practice  grad- 
ually went  into  disuse,  and  when  the  subject  was  last  un- 
der discussion,  in  1831,  the  unanswerable  arguments  of 
Burbank  and  Caverno  confirmed  the  denomination  in  the 
position  previously  and  generally  taken,  that  the  washing 
of  feet  is  not  a  gospel  ordinance. 

Church  Stock  was  the  property  of  the  church  gathered 
from  its  members,  for  meeting  its  necessary  expenses,  and 
for  benevolent  purposes.  It  consisted  of  money,  provis- 
ions, clothing,  «fec.  Eleven  months  after  the  organization 
of  the  New  Durham  church,  there  was  "  in  store  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-five  continental  dollars."^  Many  churches 
had  their  poor  to  provide  for,  and  to  meet  the  travelling 
expenses,  at  least,  of  ministers  who  visited  them,  espec- 
ially such  as  visited  them  by  invitation.  To  meet  these 
wants,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  June,  1786,  voted  "  to 
exhort  the  several  branches  to  raise  Church  Stock  for  the 
use  of  each  branch."  This  proposition  was  generally  ap- 
proved ;  and  the  New  Dui'ham  church  said  it  was  "  excel- 
lent and  apostolic."  The  subject  was  often  before  the 
Quarterly  Meeting,  and  great  efforts  were  made  to  reduce 
it  to  system,  and  equality.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  pass 
resolutions  in  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  favor  of  Church 
Stock,  but  quite  a  different  work  to  go  into  the  churches 
and  collect  the  money.  The  subject  was  commended  to 
the  churches  in  the  Circular  Letter  of  1788,  as  follows : 
"  Beware  of  covetousness  ;  consider  that  '  the  earth  is  the 
Lord's,  and  the  fulness  thereof;'  that  you  are  not  your 
own,  but  are  bought  with  a  price.  We  are  apprehensive 
that  there  is  a  too  general  neglect  of  Church  Stock,  and 
of  contributions  to  the  necessities  of  the  needy.  By  with- 
holding more  than  is  meet  has  tended  to  poverty,  grievous 
poverty  of  soul,  and  what  is  far  worse,  has  awfuUy  dis- 
honored our  most  kind,  loving  Lord  and  Master."     The 

1  This  "  continental"  money  was  the  paper  currency  of  the  country, 
then  greatly  depreciated  in  value — ^perhaps  ten-fold. 


104  THE  PmST  DECADE. 

next  year  the  records  say,  "  With  regard  to  Church  Stocky 
we  find  to  our  grief  that  it  has  been  very  much  neglected." 
The  importance  of  this  fund  was  clearly  seen  and  deeply 
felt  by  some.  But  clear  views  and  deep  feelings  on  the 
part  of  a  few  will  not  bring  money,  while  the  masses  nei- 
ther see  nor  feel.  And  here  was  the  neglect ;  and  the  con- 
sequences have  blasted  many  a  promising  harvest.  Large 
fields  of  usefulness  are  now  unoccupied,  many  churches 
have  become  extinct,  and  in  many  respects  has  Zion  lan- 
guished, simply  because  the  luxury  of  giving  has  not  been 
foreseen,  and  the  idolatry  of  covetousness  has  not  beeu 
understood. 

Without  giving  up  their  favorite  project  of  Church 
Stock,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  agreed  in  1789  to  raise  a 
general  fund  for  its  own  distribution.  The  churches  were 
advised  "  to  lay  aside  more  or  less  yearly,  or  oftener,  for 
charitable  uses,  to  be  brought  in  to  chosen  men,  and  by 
them  distributed  to  the  needy,  according  to  their  discre- 
tion and  wisdom."  Joshua  Coombs,  of  Little  River,  Me., 
was  appointed  Treasurer,  and  each  church  was  desired  to 
choose  a  collector  and  report  every  quarter.  Here  was 
systematic  benevolence  on  general  principles,  but  the  effort 
was  not  very  successful.  Times  were  hard,  and  money 
was  scarce,  so  that  trials  and  discouragements  often  looked 
those  Christian  pioneers  sternly  in  the  face  ;  and,  as  they 
faltered  not,  ungrateful  must  be  that  posterity  that  refuses 
to  honor  their  devotional  and  sacrificing  spirit. 

While  upon  this  subject,  we  may  anticipate  a  few  things 
belonging  to  the  next  decade,  and  not  refer  to  it  again.  In 
1794  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  voted,  "  That 
each  Monthly  Meeting  [church]  collect  a  Stock  for  its  own 
benefit  by  equality.  That  one  or  more  be  appointed  to 
apportion  the  sum  which  the  Monthly  Meeting  concludes 
to  raise  ;  and  that  each  member  convey  to  the  Treasurer 
his  proportion,  in  such  species^  as  may  be  most  convenient 

*  For  several  years  after  the  Revolutionaiy  War,  there  was  so  little 
money  ia  circulation  that,  in  many  business  transactions,  "barter"  ncc- 


PERSECUTION.  105 

for  him  ;  or  he  deemed  a  transgressor."  Many  churches 
complied  with  the  instruction,  but  others  did  not,  and  as 
the  vote  could  not  execute  itself,  they  were  left  without 
means.  The  appropriation  of  this  stoCk  was  for  various 
purposes,  under  the  direction  of  the  church.  The  New 
Durham  records  speak  of  "  fifty  cents  a  week"  for  the 
support  of  a  poor  sister  ;  "  fifteen  shillings  to  Eld.  Ran- 
dall's family  to  supply  them  with  bread-corn  in  his  absence 
to  the  Yearly  Meeting ;"  "  f  12"  at  one  time,  and  "  $14" 
at  another,  for  "  the  use  of  a  pasture  during  Yearly  Meet- 
ing ;"  "  $4  for  the  use  of  a  horse  by  Randall  to  Marsh- 
field,  Ms.,"  &c. 

The  Persecution  experienced  by  the  fathers,  was  not,  to 
any  great  extent,  physical  abuse,  but  opposition  to  their 
worship  and  labors.  For  years  they  were  obliged  to  pay 
their  "  minister  tax"  to  the  "  standing  order,"  in  many 
towns.  When  the  Loudon  and  Canterbury  church  pub- 
licly discarded  Calvinism,  one  of  its  members  had  just 
been  released  from  a  long  and  expensive  lawsuit,  in  which 
it  was  decided  that  dissenters  mwsf  pay  their  assessed  taxes. 
A  member  of  the  "Wolfborough  church  refused  to  pay, 
and  his  cow  was  taken.  Rev.  Joseph  Goodwin,  of  Maine, 
had  his  horse  taken  for  the  same  reason.  It  was  of  little 
use  to  resist  the  parish  collector,  and  the  taxes  were  gen- 
erally paid  ;  but  the  influence  of  such  taxation  was  irrita- 
ting and  oppressive.  And,  because  the  fathers  publicly 
and  privately  opposed  the  whole  system,  they  and  their  ef- 
forts were,  in  turn,  opposed. 

The  right  to  worship  separately  from  the  "  standing  or- 
der," was  denied  ;  and  such  worship  as  that  of  the  "  Ran- 
dallites"  was  intolerable.  Their  doctrines  were  misrepre- 
sented, and  their  excesses  greatly  magnified.      They  were 

essarily  took  the  place  of  cash.  This  fact  explains  the  following  records 
of  the  Canterbury  church. 

"  March  6,  1796.  Voted  to  sell  ten  bushels  of  rye  from  the  Church 
Stock  to  purchase  things  for  the  communion  table." 

"  June  7th,  Voted  to  send  one  bushel  of  wheat  and  one-half  bushel 
of  rye  to  the  Yearly  Meeting." 


106  THE   PIBST  DECADE. 

reproached  as  "  freewillers  ;"  and,  since  their  meetings 
could  not  be  suppressed,  the  disturbance  of  them  was  of- 
ten justified.  They  lived  in  the  midst  of  reports,  false  as 
they  were  foolish  and  scandalous.  On  one  occasion,  as 
Tingley  went  to  fulfil  an  appointment,  opposers  had  be- 
come so  excited  that  legal  measures  were  taken  for  warn- 
ing him  out  of  town.  When  the  officer  came  to  serve  the 
writ,  he  was  so  agitated  with  rage  or  fear,  conscious  guilt 
or  Divine  reproof,  that  he  could  not  read  it ;  and,  after 
two  or  three  ineffectual  attempts,  Tingley,  in  compassion, 
read  it  for  him,  and,  returning  the  paper,  continued  un- 
hesitatingly about  his  "  Master's  business." 

In  that  day,  as  in  the  apostles'  day,  it  was  said,  "  con- 
cerning this  sect,  we  know  that  every  where  it  is  spoken 
against."  Its  free  doctrines  were  declared  to  be  heretical, 
and  its  free  worship  to  be  disreputable.  Every  progres- 
sive step  was  contested,  and  their  extinction,  as  a  people, 
was  perseveringly  sought. 


1 790, J  RANDALL'S   AFFLICTION,  107 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  YEAELY  MEETING, 

AND  HISTORY  OF  THE  TWO  PRECEDING  YEARS, 

1790—1792. 

Randall's  Affliction — ^Winslow's  Letter — Cotton  —  Declension — ^Re-or- 
ganization  at  New  Durham — John  Buzzell — Church  in  "Waterhorough 
— ^New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting — ^Yearly  Meeting-Sessions  of  the 
Quarterly  Meeting. 

The  year  1790  commenced  with  a  state  of  religious 
apathy  in  most  of  the  churches.  But  few  attended  the 
Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting  in  March^  and  those  few 
brought  disheartening  reports  from  all  quarters.  Randall 
was  distressed,  and  in  May  his  affliction  was  further  in- 
creased by  an  attack  of  the  influenza,  a  sweeping  epidemic^ 
that  brought  him  very  low,  and  forbade  his  attendance  at  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  with  his  own  church  in  June.  When 
partially  recovered,  he  was  summoned  to  the  dying  bed  of 
hie  honored  father  in  Ossipee,  twenty-two  miles  distant, 
and  found  him  speechless  ;  and  in  a  few  hours  the  strug- 
gling spirit  left  for  the  land  of  rest.  The  funeral  was  at 
New  Durham,  where  the  son,  in  feeble  health,  preached 
from  Ps.  37  :  37.  "  Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold 
the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace." 

At  the  September  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  a 
letter  was  received  from  Kenelm  Winslow  and  wife,  of 
Lewiston,  saying,  "  We  believe  that  you  deny  election, 
the  perseverance  of  the  saints  in  Christ,  and  the  sover- 
eignty  of  God.     We  desire  that  you  would  grant  us  a 


108  YEARLY   MEETING,   ETC.  [1790. 

dismission  from  your  church,  or  we  must  take  it,"  &c. 
This  letter  produced  quite  a  sensation  in  the  meeting,  and 
it  was  thought  best  to  pass  no  longer  unnoticed  such  cruel 
aspersions.  A  lengthy  reply  was  returned,  by  order  of 
the  Quarterly  Meeting,  denying  the  charges,  and  explain- 
ing the  doctrines.  They  were  admonished  to  cherish  and 
manifest  a  different  spirit,  or  they  would  be  dealt  with  as 
transgressors. 

A  class  of  ill-mannered,  self-righteous,  contentious  per- 
sons usually  attended  the  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Gorham, 
and  so  great  was  the  annoyance,  that  Gorham,  for  several 
years,  was  called  "  the  seat  of  war."  At  the  November 
session,  their  obtrusiveness  in  the  conference  was  a  great 
trial,  and  on  the  Sabbath  they  publicly  opposed  and  con- 
tradicted the  speakers.  These  things  were  endured  with 
patience,  and  were  sanctified  to  their  more  close  adherence 
to  Christ. 

The  singularities  of  John  Cotton  came  under  considera- 
tion at  this  meeting,  and  the  Quarterly  Meeting  "  con- 
cluded that  said  Cotton  has  a  gift  to  improve  in  the 
church,  but  it  is  possible  he  has  sometimes  spoken  too 
much,  or  spoken  after  he  should  have  left  off,"  The  Re- 
ligious Magazine  says,  "  This  Cotton  had  an  excellent 
gift  of  exhortation,  but  it  may  be  said  of  him  as  it  was  of 
Elias,  '  he  was  a  man  subject  to  like  passions  as  Ave  are  ;' 
and  sometimes  his  zeal  for  God  carried  him  to  a  great 
length,  and  exposed  him  to  great  persecutions."  There 
have  been  John  Cotton's  in  every  age  of  the  church  ;  men 
who  mean  well,  and  whose  determined  purpose  is  to  re- 
prove sin.  They  scorn  the  idea  of  adapting  their  efforts 
to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  men  and  times,  and  disre- 
gard the  peaceful  avenues  to  the  heart,  when  a  more 
offensive  one  is  most  direct.  Their  unacquaintance  with 
human  nature,  and  their  disregard  for  the  rules  of  propri- 
ety, render  them  fit  subjects  of  our  Saviour's  admonition  : 
"  Be  ye  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves." 

The  long  dark  night  of  religious  declension,  that  had 


1791.]  DECLENSION   IN  NEW   DUEHAM.  109 

rested  down  upon  the  churches  for  six  years,  was  now,  at 
the  close  of  1790,  becoming  dark  in  the  extreme.  Church 
Stock,  Monthly  Meetings,  and  discipline  were  sadly  neg- 
lected, and  Zion,  Avith  her  broken  walls,  lay  everywhere 
exposed.  "  This  was  said  to  be  the  most  dark  and  trying 
time  that  ever  these  people  experienced. "^  Ministers 
travelled,  preached,  and  did  what  they  could  ;  individual 
Christians,  in  many  chvirches,  sustained  the  covenant 
}neetings,  and  struggled  on,  but  the  attendance  was  small, 
and  little  or  no  impression  for  good  seemed  to  be  made. 
It  was  one  of  those  distressing  periods,  that  occasionally 
come  in  the  history  of  the  church,  when  iniquity  abounds,, 
and  the  love  of  many  waxes  cold.  But  the  Lord  was  pre- 
paring them  for  more  efficient  service,  by  showing  them 
the  insufficiency  of  human  wisdom  and  strength.  He 
knew  just  how  far  and  how  long  to  test  their  adherence  to 
his  cause,  before  granting  deliverance.  Christians  mourn- 
ed with  increasing  sorrow,  over  the  desolations  of  Zion, 
and  the  sinner's  dreadful  end.  Having  learned  that  there 
was  no  hope  in  man,  they  went  to  God  for  help,  and  their 
plea  was  the  language  of  Joshua  :  "  O  Lord,  what  shall  I 
say  when  Israel  turneth  their  backs  before  their  enemies  ?" 
"  What  wilt  thovi  do  unto  thy  great  name  ?" 

In  New  Durham,  the  state  of  things  was  daily  becom- 
ing more  hopeless.  Early  in  the  year  1791,  Randall 
wept,  as  it  were,  "  between  the  porch  and  the  altar," 
praying  as  did  one  anciently,  "  Spare  thy  people,  O  Lord,, 
and  give  not  thy  heritage  to  reproach."  No  heart  was 
more  susceptible  of  deep  emotions  than  his,  and  through 
this  whole  struggle,  he  says,  "  I  did  not  feel  in  the  least 
discouraged,  but  was  resolutely  determined,  by  grace,  to 
persevere."  He  was  always  prepared  to  point  inquiring- 
sinners  to  the  Lamb  of  God  ;  and,  when  pardoning  mercy 
was  experienced,  his  harp  of  praise  was  always  in  tune. 
No  efforts  were  too  great  to  save  the  perishing,  or  reclaim 

•  Religious  Magazine,  Vol.  I.,  p.  60. 
10 


110  YEARLY   MEETING,   ETC.  [1791. 

the  wanderer  ;  and,  when  all  had  failed,  he  pursued  the 
even  tenor  of  his  way,  as  undisturbed  and  trustful  in  God, 
as  though  all  things  had  worked  according  to  his  desires. 
And  this  spirit  he  infused,  in  a  wonderful  degree,  among 
his  associates. 

He  now  visited  through  the  church,  conferring  with  the 
living  members  as  to  what  could  be  done,  and  at  the 
Monthly  Meeting  in  March,  it  was  foimd  that  a  great 
majority  of  the  members  were  backslidden,  and  Avould  do 
nothing  to  sustain  the  meetings  or  discipline  of  the  church. 
They  came  to  this  conclusion :  "  Our  covenant  obligations 
are  broken ;  we  are  no  longer  a  church  in  visible  stand- 
ing, and  we  believe  it  most  for  the  glory  of  God  that  a 
public  declaration  be  made  to  that  effect."  This  public 
confession  was  made  on  two  successive  Sabbaths,  and 
produced  great  excitement.  The  13th  of  April  Avas  the 
day  appointed  for  the  organization  of  the  new  church. 
As  Christians  are  required  to  walk  in  "  all  the  command- 
ments and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless,"  they  first 
decided  what  were  the  more  important  commandments, 
and  the  ordinances  were  specified.  The  following  is  an 
abridged  copy,  but  contains  all  the  ideas  of  the  original 
draft. 

1.  Non-conformity  to  the  World.  Christians  are  com- 
manded not  to  conform  to  the  world  in  its  customs,  fashions, 
and  idle  conversation  ;  nor  countenance  them  who  do,  but 
rather  reprove  them. 

2.  Liberality.  They  are  to  do  good  to  all,  communi- 
cate to  the  Church  Stock,  and  admonish  the  covetous. 

3.  Pride.  They  should  not  exalt  themselves,  debase 
others,  or  adorn  their  person  with  ornaments  or  superfluous 
apparel. 

4.  Business.  They  should  not  follow  the  customs  of  the 
world  in  trade,  but  do  as  they  ivould  be  done  by,  and  not 
as  they  are  done  by. 

5.  Latcsuits.     All  difficulties  between  Christians  should 


1791.]  KEORGANIZATION  AT   NEW  DURHAM.  Ill 

be  settled  by  the  church  ;  but  an  unbelieving  debtor  may 
foe  sued,  when  "  he  is  better  able  to  pay,  than  the  brother 
is  to  go  without  it." 

6.  Exhortation.  Christians  should  be  ready  to  speak 
of  religion  as  well  as  earthly  things,  since  God  has  been 
pleased  to  say,  "  They  that  feared  the  Lord,  spake  often 
one  to  another." 

7.  Secret  Prayer  is  a  positive  command. 

8.  Family  Worship  should  be  sustained  by  reading  the 
Scriptures,  by  prayer^  and  discoursing  upon  religion  in  the 
family. 

9.  Family  Government  should  be  exercised  over  chii- 
-dren  and  domestics,  and  they  restrained  from  evil  practices 
and  encouraged  in  virtue. 

10.  Bearing  Arms.  True  Christians  cannot  "  bear  car- 
nal weapons,"  but  should  possess  "a  kind  and  loving 
disposition^" 

The  Ordinances  of  baptism,  the  Lord's  supper,  and  the 
washing  of  one  another's  feet,  should  be  observed. 

The  covenant  was  then  signed,  and  the  whole  number, 
twenty-one  in  all,  bowed  before  the  Lord,  and  besought 
him  for  the  uniting  spirit  of  love  that  would  join  their 
hearts  in  one«^ 

Different  opinions  were  entertained  as  to  the  propriety 
of  this  church  action,  and  Randall  expected  nothing  less 
from  the  Quarterly  Meeting  ;  but,  after  making  a  statement 
of  the  facts  before  that  body,  he  says,  "  The  brethren  from 
distant  parts  made  no  objection."  Buzzell's  Life  of  RaE- 
dall  expresses  the  opinion,  that  "  it  would  have  been  bet^ 
ter  for  the  brethren  to  have  stood  by  their  first  covenant, 
and  used  timely  labor  with  transgressing  members,  accord- 
ing to  Scripture  rules." 

This  little  church  of  living  members  was  now  well 
united,  and  ready  for  Christian  labor.     They  at  once  set 

*  These  articles  and  the  covenant  were  laid  aside  prior  to  the  year 
ISOS.—Neio  Durham  Records,  Vol.  II.,  p.  151. 


112  YEARLY  MEETING,   ETC.  [1791. 

tliemselves  about  the  work  of  reclaiming  their  former 
brethren,  and  thus  endeavored  to  fulfil  their  obligations 
under  the  old  covenant.  In  a  few  instances  they  were  suc- 
cessful, but  in  most  cases  they  were  coldly  received,  and 
greatly  blamed.  The  church  and  pastor  moved  steadily 
onward,  prejudices  died  away,  acknowledgments  were 
made,  sinners  were  uneasy,  and  it  was  soon  evident  that 
the  Lord  was  in  the  place.  At  the  first  Conference,  May 
7th,  every  member  spoke,  and  it  was  a  precious  season. 
The  next  day,  the  word  was  preached  with  power,  the  or- 
dinances were  administered  with  more  than  usual  solemni- 
ty, and  the  power  of  conviction  seemed  irresistible.  A 
meeting  was  appointed  for  the  next  day,  and  "  as  many  as 
fifty  were  at  once  inquiring  with  tears  what  they  must  do 
to  be  saved,  or  praising  God  for  redeeming  love."  Meet- 
ings were  held  every  day,  and  sometimes  evenings,  busy 
as  were  the  people  in  this  seedtime  of  the  year.  Chris- 
tians Avere  faithful,  converts  could  not  keep  silence,  and 
new  cases  of  conviction  and  conversion  Avere  of  daily  oc- 
currence. The  Quarterly  Meeting  came  June  11th,  and 
gave  a  neAv  impulse  to  the  Avork.  A  sermon  was  preached 
Sabbath  morning,  and  the  entire  afternoon  Avas  spent  in 
exhortation,  "  Avith  much  of  the  Divine  presence."  Mon- 
day was  spent  in  social  and  public  Avorship,  and  at  the  AA'a- 
ter,  where  seven  Avere  baptized,  "  the  Holy  Ghost  descended 
most  blessedly."  It  appears  from  the  journal  of  Randall 
that  June  8th  he  baptized  two  ;^  10th,  tAvo  ;  11th,  one  ; 
13th,  seven;  14th,  five  ;  16th,  one;  and  thus  the  AA'ork 
Avent  on  till,  in  three  months,  sixty-seven  were  added  to 
the  church.  NeA'er  were  the  praises  of  God  more  joyful- 
ly sung  ;  and  they  Avere  all  the  sweeter  from  the  contrast 
of  present  scenes  with  those  long  years  of  declension, 
through  Avhich  they  had  sorrowfully  journeyed.  "  The 
ministers  appeared  to  be  clothed  with  salvation  ;  their  tes- 
timonies were  clear  and  pointed  ;  and  they  waited  for  the 

^  John  Buzzell  and  Simon  Pottle  ;  both  afterwards  entered  the  minis- 
try. 


1791,]  JOHN  buzzell's  conversion.  113 

putting  forth  of  the  good  Shepherd.  Each  one  appeared 
to  know  his  lot.  When  they  preached,  or  prayed  vocally, 
they  spoke  one  at  a  time,  and  the  rest  heard  or  joined  [in 
spirit],  and  at  the  close,  added  their — Amen.'"'^ 

Brighter  days  were  now  dawning  upon  languishing  Zi- 
on,  as  she  was  "  coming  up  from  the  wilderness,  leaning 
on  her  beloved,"  and  the  spirit  of  revival  became  quite 
general.  Whitney  went  to  Kittery,  Me.,  early  in  the 
season,  where  many  experienced  religion,  and  a  church 
was  embodied.  In  a  letter  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in 
June,  they  say,  "  There  is  great  union  among  us,  and  a 
number  more  appear  to  be  under  deep  concern." 

Soon  after  Christmas,  in  1789,  a  stranger  called  at  the 
house  of  Randall  one  evening,  inquiring  for  the  residence 
of  a  friend  living  in  the  vicinity.  It  was  the  young  man 
who  had  opened  a  school  in  an  adjoining  neighborhood 
the  week  before,  and  this  interview  led  Randall  to  visit 
and  patronize  it^  The  teacher  was  a  constant  attendant 
upon  his  meetings,  and,  while  teaching  others,  was  himself 
all  winter  secretly  desiring  to  learn  of  Christ,  The  even- 
ing after  his  school  closed,  was  spent  by  the  teacher  at  the 
house  of  his  spiritual  instructor.  The  interview  was 
closed  by  prayer,  and  that  same  night,  on  the  way  to  his 
boarding  place,  mourning  over  his  sad  and  lost  condition, 
and  crying  for  mercy,  deliverance  came.  The  next  day 
being  the  Sabbath,  he  confessed  Christ  in  the  public  coii- 
gregation,  and  thus  did  John  Buzzell  return  to  Middleton 
a  Christian  man. 

In  April,  1791,  just  twelve  months  after  his  conversion, 
and  when  twenty-five  years  of  age,  he  preached  his  first 
sermon,  and  in  his  own  town.  Various  were  the  opinions 
of  this  effort.  Some  said  he  is  a  good  man,  others  said, 
nay,  but  he  deceiveth  the  people  as  well  as  himself.  There 
was  considerable  opposition,  but  the  meetings  continued, 
and  his  brother  Aaron  was  the  first  to  find  mercy,  and  he 
became   an  efficient  co-laborer  and  able  minister  of  the 

"*  Religious  Magazine,  Vol.  I,  p.  82, 
10* 


114  YEAKLY   MEETING,    ETC.  [1792. 

cross.  Seven  others,  without  ministerial  counsel,  "  after 
solemn  prayer  to  Almighty  God,  for  wisdom  and  under- 
standing, entered  into  a  solemn  verbal  agreement  to  con- 
sider themselves  a  church  of  Christ,  and  to  take  the  Scrip- 
tures of  truth  to  be  their  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice." 
A  Monthly  Meeting  was  established,  and,  in  about  three 
months,  nearly  forty  persons,  most  of  them  heads  of  fam- 
ilies, united  with  this  Christian  "band.  None  of  them  had 
been  baptized,  but  aH  of  them  were  soon  after,  and  they 
became  a  branch  of  "  the  church  of  Christ  in  New  Dur- 
ham." The  gracious  work  extended  into  Brookfield,  Wolf- 
borough,  Barnstead  and  Pittsfield,  where  many  turned  to 
the  Lord.  At  the  last  named  place,  a  church  was  now  or- 
ganized. The  principal  laborers  were  Randall  and  Boody 
as  ministers,  and  David  Knowlton,  Isaac  Townsend  and 
John  Buzzell,  as  unordained  preachers,  assisted  by  many 
■exhorters,  both  male  and  female. 

There  had  been  a  band  of  Christians  in  Waterborough, 
Me.,  for  several  years,  so  many  of  them  in  1785  that  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  sent  a  committee  "  to  see  if  those  of 
Massabesec  wiU  embody,  and  travel  in  visible  order."  A 
church  was  now  organized  at  a  place  called  Ossipee  Hill, 
and  this  town  became  the  residence  of  Tingley.  Revivals 
were  also  enjoyed  in  Raymond  and  Bristol,  and  "  this  year 
was  one  of  release  to  many  souls." 

The  year  1792  commenced  on  Sunday,  and  Randall 
preached  at  New  Durham  from  Ezra  7  :  9,  "  Upon  the  first 
day  of  the  first  month  began  he  to  go  up  from  Babylon." 
He  was  Divinely  assisted,  and  the  efiect  was  astonishing. 
Prosperity  continued  to  attend  the  church,  and  its  numbers 
and  graces  were  constantly  increasing.  One  hundred  and 
twenty-six  members  were  connected  with  the  church  ;  of 
this  number,  ninety-five  were  accounted  active  members, 
and  resided  in  no  less  than  fifteen  different  towns.  To  leave 
them  uncared  for,  in  their  inexperience,  would  have  been 
cruel ;  and  to  organize  independent  churches  in  their 
scattered  condition  was  nnadvisable.     Randall  saw  the  ne- 


1792.]  NEW  DURHAM   Q.    M.  115 

cessity  of  some  new  arrangement  for  meeting  the  wants  of 
the  people  in  their  several  localities,  by  securing  to  them 
the  means  of  grace,  the  counsel  of  experienced  men,  and 
a  bond  of  union  that  would  be  their  hope  and  strength.  A 
plan  was  at  length  matured,  and  approved  by  all  who  ex- 
amined it.  A  general  meeting  was  notified  to  convene  at 
the  house  of  James  Lock  in  Barnstead,  May  23,  1792,  and 
delegates  were  present  from  four  Monthly  Meetings.  There 
were  eight  from  New  Durham,  six  from  Strafford,  four 
from  Pittsfield,  and  three  from  Middleton — twenty-one  in 
all. 

Randall  was  chosen  moderator,  and  John  Buzzell  clerk, 
Randall  then  presented  his  "  Method  for  the  Better  Regu- 
lation of  the  church  at  New  Durham,"  which  was  adopt- 
ed, and  each  Monthly  Meeting  was  to  provide  itself  with  a 
clerk  and  book  of  records,  and  attend  to  its  ordinary  dis- 
cipline. Delegates  from  these  branches  were  to  meet  once 
a  quarter,  and  at  this  Quarterly  Meeting  their  records 
were  to  be  examined,  and  any  desired  assistance  given. 
The  Quarterly  Meeting  organized  in  1783  was  to  become 
a  Yearly  Meeting,  and  thus  a  new  order  of  things  was  ar- 
ranged. This  meeting  at  Lock's  became  a  permanent  or- 
ganization, and  the  times  of  its  sessions  were  fixed  on  the 
third  Wednesday  in  January,  May,  August  and  October, 
Then  and  there  commenced  the  New  Durham  Quarterly 
Meeting. 

On  the  ninth  of  June  the  old  Quarterly  Meeting,  em- 
bracing all  the  churches,  convened  at  the  house  of  Randall, 
"  The  Method"  for  the  organization  of  local  Quarterly 
Meetings,  as  given  above,  was  presented,  and  after  due 
consultation,  was  unanimously  adopted.  This  organiza- 
tion was  no  longer  called  a  Quarterly  Meeting,  but  as- 
sumed the  name  of  Yearly  Meeting  ;  not  because  it  held 
only  a  yearly  session,  but  because  it  held  only  a  yearly 
session  in  the  same  place.  The  transactions  were  record- 
ed  in  the  book  previously  used,  and  the  meetings  continued 
much  the  same  as  before  this  change,  only  they  gradually 


116  YEARLY  MEETING,  ETC.  [1792. 

took  less  and  less  notice  of  personal  matters  and  strictly 
local  interests,  and  gave  attention  more  particularly  to  gen- 
eral subjects  and  referred  business  from  the  Quarterly- 
Meetings,  It  was,  in  reality,  the  same  meeting,  wherever 
its  sessions  were  held,  and  business,  commenced  in  one 
state,  was  often  finished  in  another.  It  was  usually  des- 
ignated by  the  name  of  the  town,  or  state,  or  part  of  the 
state  in  which  it  was  held  ;  as  the  Parsonsfield,  or  Maine 
Western  Yearly  Meeting,  in  February  ;  the  New  Durham, 
or  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting,  in  June  ;  the  Edge- 
comb,  or  Maine  Eastern  Yearly  Meeting,  in  September  ; 
and  the  Gorham  in  November. 

The  organization  of  the  denomination  was  now  more 
complete.  Individual  Christians  in  any  particular  locali- 
ty united  in  tlie  formation  of  a  church.  To  it  they  wer-e 
amenable,  and  to  it,  also,  they  appealed  for  redress  in  their 
gi'ievances.  The  church  was  a  home — a  family  circle — 
where  social  joys  Avere  often  pure  and  precious.  Church- 
es reported  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, were  amenable  to  it.  They  were  not  then  the  inde- 
pendent bodies  they  have  since  become  ;  but,  for  several 
years,  both  churches  and  ministers  considered  themselves 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  whose 
authority  was  greatly  respected.  The  plan  contemplated 
the  establishment  of  a  Quarterly  Meeting  wherever  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  churches  were  conveniently  located  ;  and 
this  has  since  been  executed.  Quarterly  Meetings  became 
responsible  to  the  Yearly  Meeting,  when  the  plan  was  ful- 
ly consummated,  and  the  Yearly  Meeting  was  the  highest 
tribunal  in  the  denomination,  and  took  cognizance  of  all 
questions  of  general  interest.  Thus,  the  year  1792^  marks 
another  era  in  the  denomination. 

At  this  time  there  had  been  thirty-four  sessions  of  the 

*  It  was  this  same  year  that  the  first  Methodist  society  was  formed  in 
Boston  (being  the  third  in  New  England),  by  Jesse  Lee,  the  apostle  of 
New  England  Methodism.  His  first  sermon  in  this  land  of  the  Puri- 
tans was  in  1789. 


1792.]  SESSIONS   OF   THE    Q.    M.  117 

Quarterly  Meeting ;  five  at  New  Gloucester  and  four  at 
Parsonsfield  in  March  ;  eight  at  New  Durham  in  June  ; 
eight  at  "Westport  in  September  ;  and  two  at  Hollis,  and 
seven  at  Gorham,  in  December.  Randall  was  absent  but 
once,  or  twice  at  the  most,  and  was  then  detained  by  sick- 
ness. The  other  ministers  were  usually  present,  especial- 
ly Tingley. 

As  Moderator,  Pelatiah  Tingley,  John  Whitney,  Nathan 
Merrill,  Thomas  Stillwill  and  Andrew  Cobb,  served  once 
each  ;  Daniel  Hibbard  served  seven  times,  Samuel  Weeks 
nine,  and  Benjamin  Randall  thirteen  times. 

As  Clerk,  Job  Macumber,  Geoi'ge  Philbrick,  Nathaniel 
Fi'eeman,  and  Joshua  Coombs  served  once  each  ;  Ebene- 
zer  Brookings  twice,  Benjamin  Randall  four  times,  and 
Pelatiah  Tingley  twenty-four  times. 


118  MAINE,  [1792. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

HISTORY  IN  MAINE. 

1792—1800. 

Lock  Reclaimed — Sandy  River  Churches — Stinchfield — Trial  in  Gray 
and  New  Gloucester  Church — Ordination  of  Leach — ^Edgecomb  and 
Farmington  Quarterly  Meetings — ^Weeks  Lost — Ordination  of  Tufts — 
Church  Trials  —  Gorhani  Quarterly  Meeting — Incident — ^Buzzell  in 
Parsonsfield — Revival  in  Parsonsfield,  HoUis  and  Waterborough — 
Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting — Ordination  of  Stinchfield,  Hutchin- 
son and  Bailey — ^Revival  in  Bristol — Ordination  of  Blaisdell  and  Lord. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting,  established  in  1783,  soon  put 
a  new  aspect  upon  the  face  of  things  in  the  feeble  churches. 
The  organization  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  the  arrange- 
ment for  local  Quarterly  Meetings  in  1792,  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  second  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  denomi- 
nation. Starting,  as  we  now  do,  from  this  period,  with 
permanent,  enlarged,  and  constantly  increasing  interests 
to  claim  our  attention,  it  is  no  longer  advisable  to  traverse 
the  entire  territory  covered  by  the  churches  for  the  record 
of  events  in  chronological  order.  As  this  would  be  too 
wandering  and  complicated,  the  local  history  in  each 
State  will  hereafter  be  given,  for  a  decade  of  years,  in  a 
chapter  by  itself.  And  as  there  has  always  been  a  great- 
er number  of  members  in  Maine  than  any  other  State,  the 
usual  geographical  order  will  be  followed. 

The  arrangements  detailed  in  the  preceding  chapter  wer** 
not  perfected  at  once,  and,  for  a  time,  both  churches  and 
Quarterly  Meetings  reported  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  ;  and 
they  did  it  irrespective  of  the  State  in  which  it  was  hekL 
The  first  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  after  its  change 


1792.]  look's  kestoration.  119' 

from  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  was  held  at  Westport,  Sep- 
tember 1,  1792,  and  the  church  at  New  Durham,  and 
several  in  Maine,  sent  cheering  reports.  Confessions  were 
received,  and  trials  in  four  different  churches  were  remov- 
ed. The  November  session  was  held  at  Gorham ;  and 
the  reports  brought  the  gratifying  intelligence  of  union 
and  steadfastness  generally,  and  of  revivals  in  Raymond  ^ 
New  Gloucester  and  Gorham. 

In  the  summer  of  1792,  Edward  Lock,  having  lost  his 
interest  in  the  Shakers,  removed  to  Maine,  and  settled  at 
Chesterville  on  Sandy  river.  Meetings  were  established, 
and  he  preached  alternately  on  each  side  of  the  river  dur- 
ing the  season.  In  September  he  attended  the  Yearly 
Meeting  at  Westport,  and  made  a  public  confession  of  his 
wrong-doings.  For  ten  years  his  life  had  been  worse 
than  useless  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  but  so  penitent  and 
sincere  did  he  seem,  that  the  friends  restored  him  to  their 
confidence  and  fellowship.  Being  placed  on  a  committee 
with  Randall  and  Dea.  Otis,  for  the  settlement  of  difficul- 
ties in  that  vicinity,  he  opened  the  way  for  acknowledg- 
ments at  Woolwich,  Georgetown,  Bristol,  and  Westport, 
by  repeating  his  own  confession  and  asking  forgiveness. 
Other  backsliders  folloAved,  and  their  mission  was  entire- 
ly successful  in  every  church.  So  great  is  the  power  of 
true  penitence  for  one's  own  sins,  and  of  Christian  ten- 
derness towards  others,  that  here  is  one  of  the  great 
secrets  of  success  in  reaching  the  erring  and  sinful.  The 
subduing  power  of  the  cross  lies  in  the  streams  of  love 
that  everywhere  flow  from  Christ,  the  inexhaustible  foun- 
tain. 

Lock  returned  from  the  Yearly  Meeting  greatly  strength- 
ened, and  the  winter  following  saw  many  brought  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  the  truth.  He  baptized  several  in 
Farmington,  and,  March  29,  1793,  twelve  united  in  church 
fellowship  under  his  pastoral  care.  Francis  Tufts  and 
John  F.  Woods  were  appointed  Ruling  Elders,  and  were 
subsequently  ordained.     Tufts  came  from  Nobleborough^ 


120  MAINE.  [1793. 

ten  years  before,  removing  his  family  and  household  effects 
on  horseback, — his  children  in  "  hanyards  made  of  basket- 
stuff."  He  followed  up  the  east  shore  of  the  Kennebec  at 
low  water,  and,  crossing  over  to  Sandy  river,  he  travelled 
through  the  woods  the  last  day,  by  a  line  of  spotted  trees. 
In  1790  he  went  to  Boston,  Avith  two  others,  and  purchas- 
ed of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  (for  themselves 
and  other  settlers),  the  entire  to"waship  of  Farmington,  for 
£400.  His  position  in  society  gave  him  a  wide  and  con- 
trolling influence,  which  Avas  Avisely  exerted  in  building 
up  the  cause  of  Christ.  Woods  came  from  Dunstable, 
Mass.,  four  years  before,  with  ox  teams,  being  tAventy- 
three  days  on  the  road.  He  Avas  a  leading  citizen  in  toAvn, 
and  eminently  useful.  These  three  men,  Lock,  Tufts  and 
Woods,  were  not  only  pioneer  settlers,  but  pioneer  Chris- 
tians, and  founders  of  Free  Baptist  churches  in  the  Sandy 
river  valley. 

Assistance  Avas  requested  from  the  next  Yearly  Meet- 
ing that  convened  in  Maine,  and  Randall,  Tingley,  Hib- 
bard,  Wliitney,  and  Dea.  Otis,  AA-ent  to  their  aid  September 
21st.  Lock  was  first  examined,  as  to  his  former  course, 
and  his  answers  were  no  less  satisfactory  at  home,  than 
had  been  his  confession  abroad.  He  was  therefore  pub- 
licly acknoAA'ledged  as  a  brother  beloved,  and  administra- 
tor of  the  ordinances  "  by  vii'tue  of  his  former  ordination." 
Members  of  the  church  Avere  found  to  be  in  full  felloAvship 
Avith  each  other,  and  thus  Avere  they  prepared  for  a  glori- 
ous meeting  the  next  day,  which  was  the  Sabbath.  On 
Monday  they  all  came  together  again,  and  the  church  of 
twenty-seven  members — sixteen  of  them  males — AA'as  re- 
ceived into  the  fellowship  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  amid 
songs  of  praise  and  shouts  of  joy.  The  exercises  closed 
Avith  "  a  solemn  charge  given  to  Eld.  Lock  in  behalf  of  the 
meeting,  and  in  regard  to  that  place  in  particular."  The 
spirit  of  revival  was  there,  and  from  this  living  chm-ch  in 
the  wilderness,  there  "  sounded  out  the  word  of  the  Lord" 
through  all  the  Sandy  river  country. 


1793.]  EPHRAIM   STINCHFIELD.  121 

At  the  same  Yearly  Meeting  in  "Westport,  a  request  was 
made  fox*  "  some  of  the  Elders  (Randall  in  particular)  to 
travel  a  circuit  northerly  and  easterly,  to  break  bread  and 
preach  to  the  hungry  and  famishing  people."  It  seemed 
impossible,  all  things  considered,  to  grant  this  request, 
but  the  committee  sent  to  Canaan — Whitney,  Hibbard, 
and  two  laymen — were  requested  to  extend  their  visit  to 
Twenty-Five  Mile  Pond,  [now  Burnham]. 

At  this  meeting,  also,  the  proposition  to  hold  "  a  meet- 
ing of  all  the  Elders,  exhorters,  and  public  speakers,"  in 
connection  with  the  next  Yearly  Meeting,  was  adopted  ; 
and  hence  arose  the  Elders'  Conference. ^ 

Ephraim  Stinchfield  was  born  in  New  Gloucester  in 
1761,  and  experienced  religion  when  twenty  years  of  age, 
at  the  time  of  Randall's  first  visit  to  that  part  of  Maine. 
He  neglected  baptism,  grieved  the  Spirit,  and  lost  his  re- 
ligion. In  1792  he  heard  Randall  preach  again  in  Ray- 
mond, and  resolved  to  "  arise  and  be  baptized."  This 
purpose  he  immediately  executed,  and  united  with  the 
Gray  and  New  Gloucester  church  the  next  Sabbath.  In 
December  was  his  first  effort  to  preach.  After  speaking 
a  few  moments,  he  became  so  embarrassed  that  he  could 
not  proceed,  and  sat  down.  Some  took  it  for  granted  that 
he  had  mistaken  his  calling,  and  great  was  his  trial  with 
himself.  But  this  failure  was  not  his  only  one,  and  some 
unfriendly  members  of  the  church  charged  him  before  the 
Yeai'ly  Meeting,  with  having  "  wounded  the  cause  of  God 
by  endeavoring  to  preach  six  or  seven  tim^s,  and  could 
not."  With  an  increase  of  his  self-reliance  and  trust  in  God, 
he  became  a  very  strong  and  useful  man. 

Before  the  expiration  of  his  first  year's  membership, 
Stinchfield  became  very  much  grieved  with  the  low  state 
of  piety  in  the  church,  and  the  want  of  sympathy  between 
himself  and  pastor-^Nathan  Merrill.  His  griefs,  as  laid 
before  the  church,  were,  that  its  members  neglected  family 
prayer  and  Monthly  Meeting,  would  join  hands  with  the 

'  See  Second  Decade. 
11 


122  MAINE.  [1794, 

world  in  its  pleasures  and  "  frolics,"  and  engage  in  "  train- 
ings," tlius  giving  countenance  to  war.  No  effort  was 
made  to  relieve  his  mind,  and  he  laid  the  subject  before 
the  Yearly  Meeting.  Committees  were  repeatedly  sent 
to  the  church,  different  opinions  were  entertained  as  to 
the  cause  of  the  trials,  and  different  reports  were  present- 
ed. The  facts  showed  that  the  church  was  sadly  diseased 
with  worldly-mindedness,  even  in  a  dying  condition.  In 
it8  final  action,  the  Yearly  Meeting  had  occasion  to  rebuke 
the  church  with  severity  ;  to  remind  Stinchfield  that  he 
had  complained  too  much,  and  labored  too  little  in  cor- 
recting the  wrongs ;  and  to  confess  itself  faulty  in  some 
of  its  proceedings.  A  reorganization  of  the  church  became 
necessary,  and  Merrill,  persisting  in  the  belief  that  Chris- 
tians might  innocently  encourage  military  parades,  no 
longer  cooperated  with  his  brethren,  who  were  almost 
unanimous  in  the  contrary  opinion.  This  was  a  sad  de- 
fection, and  the  trial,  which  continued  in  one  form  or  an- 
other for  four  years,  was  the  most  serious  one  the  Yearly 
Meeting  had  to  encounter  in  its  early  history. 

At  the  November  Yearly  Meeting  in  Grorham,  the  Ray--, 
mond  branch  renewed  its  request  for  the  ordination  of 
Zachaiuah  Leach.  He  was  a  native  of  Cape  Elizabeth^ 
born  in  1765,  and,  in  commencing  business  for  himself, 
removed  to  Raymond,  where  he  shared  the  toils  and  pri- 
vations of  a  new  settlement.  September  29,  1791,  he 
became  a  Christian,  and  his  experience  being  a  singular 
one,  is  given  in  his  own  words  : — "  I  had  been  consider- 
ing the  subject  of  religion  for  a  long  time,  and  had  often 
prayed  in  secret.  As  I  was  present  at  a  baptism,  and 
heard  the  candidates  answer  questions  concerning  their 
hope  in  Christ,  an  overpowering  sense  of  my  own  lost 
condition  came  over  me.  A  friend  assisted  me  in  retiring 
a  short  distance  from  the  water,  and  there  I  cried  aloud 
for  mercy.  The  Lord  heard,  and  heavenly  peace  filled  my 
soul.  I  returned  to  the  water  just  as  Eld.  Merrill  step- 
ped upon  the  shore  with  the  last  of  the  rejoicing  candi- 


1794.]  leach's  ordination.  123 

dates,  and  in  season  to  hear  him  say,  '  Lord,  it  is  done  as 
thou  hast  commanded,  and  yet  there  is  room.' 

'  Is  there  room  for  me  ?'  I  inquired. 

'  If  thou  believest  with  all  thine  heart,  thou  mayest,' 
said  the  servant  of  God,  then  filled  with  the  spirit  of  his 
Master. 

'  I  believe,  and  want  to  be  baptized,'  was  my  reply.'* 

And  he  was  then  baptized.  Faithful  to  all  his  convic- 
tions of  duty,  he  soon  began  to  preach.  The  request  for 
his  ordination  now  came  before  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and 
it  was  first  agreed  to  hear  him  preach.  The  fourth  day 
of  the  meeting,  at  10  o'clock,  A.  M.,  was  the  time  assigB- 
ed  for  the  trial  of  his  call  and  abiKty.  It  was  a  fiery  or- 
deal for  a  modest  young  man  to  thus  stand  before  an 
audience  of  experienced  Christians,  and  many  of  them 
ministers,  all  watchful  of  his  success.  In  this  instance 
the  fear  of  man  took  advantage  of  his  humility,  and  got 
the  better  of  his  trust  in  Christ,  so  that  he  was  well  nigli 
confounded  as  he  rose.  The  older  ministers  saw  his  em- 
barrassment, and  at  once  entered  into  earnest  prayer  and 
great  travail  of  soul  for  his  deliverance.  This  brief  exer- 
cise was  followed  by  a  most  profoimd  silence  ;  and  when 
it  seemed  no  longer  endurable,  Leach,  still  standing  before 
the  audience,  at  length  relieved  both  himself  and  the  peo- 
ple, by  declaring  the  great  darkness  and  emptiness  of  his 
mind.  He  then  read  Rev.  22  :  17,  "  The  Spirit  and  the 
bride  say  come,"  &c.  Light  from  on  high  dispelled  the 
darkness  of  his  mind,  the  empty  treasure  of  his  heart  was 
replenished,  and  in  this  "  trial  sermon"  he  not  only  drank 
of  "the  water  of  life"  himself,  but  pressed  the  cup  of 
salvation  to  the  lips  of  panting  penitents. 

The  vote  was  unanimous  for  his  ordination,  and  the 
council  immediately  repaired  to  Raymond,  where  he  wag 
ordained  November  6th.  Randall  preached  from  Ez. 
33  :  7,  "  So  thou,  O  son  of  man,  I  have  set  thee  a  watch- 
njan  unto  the  house  of  Israel ;  therefore  thou  shalt  hear 
the  word  at  my  mouth,  and  warn  them  from  me."     His 


124  MAINE.  [1795. 

Boul  was  imbued  with  the  subject,  and  he  spoke  like  an 
ambassador  direct  from  heaven.  Ministers  received  the 
application  made  to  them,  and  sat  trembling  under  a  sense 
of  their  awful  responsibility ;  while  the  candidate  for  ordi- 
nation was  entirely  overcome  with  the  view  of  the  work 
before  him,  and  of  his  own  insufficiency.  Scarcely  a  per- 
son in  the  crowded  congregation  was  unmoved,  and  for 
more  than  an  hour,  at  frequent  intervals,  the  sighs  of  the 
sinner  alternated  with  the  shouts  of  the  Christian.  John 
Buzzell,  Hibbard,  and  Weeks,  performed  the  other  ser- 
vices, and,  says  the  former,  "  it  was  the  most  solemn 
ordination  I  ever  attended."  The  branch  at  Raymond 
soon  became  a  distinct  church,  and,  under  the  long  pastor- 
ate of  Leach,  a  faithful  under  shepherd,  it  was  strong  and 
prosperous. 

After  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  had  been  in 
successful  operation  for  more  than  two  years,  and  was  prov- 
ing itself  a  support  and  blessing  to  the  New  Hampshire 
churches,  there  was  a  strong  desire  for  a  similar  organi- 
zation in  different  parts  of  Maine.  At  the  Yearly  Meeting 
in  "Westport,  September,  1794,  two  new  Quarterly  Meet- 
ings were  authorized — the  Edgecomb  and  Farmington. 

The  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  was  to  include  the 
churches  at  Little  River  [now  Durham],  Brunswick,  and 
aU  those  on  the  seaboard  east  of  the  Androscoggin,  viz.  : 
"Woolwich,  Parker's  Island  [Georgetown],  Squam  Island. 
[Westport],  Edgecomb,  1  Bristol,  Back  River  [2  Bris- 
tol], Seguntecook  [Camden],  New  Canaan  [LincolnvHle] . 
and  Ballstown.^  The  time  and  place  for  organizing  the 
Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  were  January  21st,  1795, 
at  Westport.  Such  was  the  severity  of  the  weather  that 
no  delegates  from  abroad  could  attend,  and,  it  being  Sat- 
urday, a  few  of  the  Westport  brethren  met  and  adjourned 
till  Monday.     On  that  day  two  delegates  from  Georgetown 

'  "  Ballsto-n-n  formerly  included  all  those  frontier  settlements  in  the 
wilderness,  from  Whitefield  through  Windsor  and  Liberty  to  Mont\-illc." 
^Stephen  Parsons. 


1795.]  FARMINGTON   QUARTERLY   MEETING.  125 

arrived,  and  at  11  o'clock  the  meeting  was  opened  hy 
prayer  ;  Daniel  Hibbard  was  chosen  Clerk,  delegates  were 
chosen  to  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  a  letter  was  prepared 
and  approved  ;  but  no  other  business  was  transacted. 

The  sessions  were  soon  fixed  on  the  third  Wednesday  in 
January,  May,  August,  and  October.  There  were  a  few 
unordained  preachers  and  Ruling  Elders  in  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  whose  labors  were  useful,  but,  unless  Whitney 
was  then  living  within  its  limits,  Hibbard  of  Westport 
was  the  only  ordained  minister.  And  about  this  time  he 
not  only  ceased  to  preach  abroad,  but  complained  that  his 
labors  were  not  appreciated  at  home.  Continued  efforts 
were  made  to  bring  him  into  more  active  service,  and  he 
rose  above  his  depressed  feelings,  after  a  few  years,  and 
was  a  substantial  pillar  in  the  Quarterly  Meeting.  From 
this  unpropitious  commencement  did  the  Edgecomb  Quar- 
terly Meeting  soon  take  its  position,  and,  braving  every 
adverse  influence,  and  adhering  tenaciously  to  the  use  of 
means,  its  prosperity  has  been  great. 

The  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  lies  principally  in  the 
valley  of  the  Sandy  river,  a  western  tributary  of  the  Kenne- 
bec. Immediately  after  the  Yearly  Meeting  that  author- 
ized its  formation,  Randall,  Buzzell,  and  one  or  two  others, 
visited  those  churches.  They  preached  at  several  places, 
and  administered  the  Lord's  supper,  generally  for  the  first 
time  ;  and  they  greatly  encouraged  the  hearts  and  strength- 
ened the  hands  of  God's  people.  Before  they  left  Phillips, 
every  adult  in  the  settlement  became  hopefully  pious,  and 
it  was  a  happy  sight  to  see  all  the  people  in  town,  aged, 
middle  aged,  and  youth,  each  careful  to  lay  up  for  himself 
a  treasure  in  heaven,  and  all  come  to  the  table  of  their 
dying  Lord. 

At  the  time  this  Quarterly  Meeting  was  formed,  it  em- 
braced all  the  churches  east  of  the  Androscoggin,  down  to 
the  northern  boundary  of  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting 
— five  in  all.  They  were  Farmington,  Uppertown  [Phil- 
lips], Belgrade,  Seven  Mile  Brook  [Anson  and  EmbdenJ, 
11* 


126  MAINE.  [1795. 

and  Twenty-Five  Mile  Pond  [Burnham,  or  Unity].  On 
tte  same  day  appointed  for  the  organization  of  the  Edge- 
comb  Quarterly  Meeting — January  21st,  1795 — delegates 
met  at  Belgrade  and  organized  the  Farmington  Quarterly 
Meeting.  Its  sessions,  as  then  established,  were  to  be 
held  on  the  third  Wednesday  of  January,  May,  August, 
and  October,  alternately  at  Belgrade  and  Farmington. 
There  was  doubtless  an  understanding  in  the  Yearly 
Meeting  as  to  the  times  when  the  Quarterly  Meetings 
— New  Durham,  Edgecomb,  and  Farmington — should 
hold  their  sessions,  for  they  were  all  appointed  on  the  same 
days. 

Lock  was  the  only  ordained  minister  in  the  Farming- 
ton  Quarterly  Meeting,  and,  from  a  beginning  thus  small, 
did  it  continue  to  prosper,  till  not  less  than  sixty  churches 
have,  at  one  time  or  another,  been  connected  with  it. 
For  several  years  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  a  general 
rather  than  a  delegated  body,  and  the  business  was  done 
by  such  members  from  the  churches  as  found  it  convenient 
to  attend.  At  the  first  session,  it  was  "  Voted  that  there 
be  an  assessment  made,  according  to  what  every  male 
member  possesseth,  to  defray  necessary  charges  in  the 
church."  Each  church  fixed  the  amount  necessary  for 
sustaining  the  cause  and  maintaining  the  poor. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  Parsonsfield  was  one  of 
the  frontier  towns  when  the  church  was  there  organized. 
Twelve  years  had  since  elapsed,  and  settlements  were 
more  general  in  town,  and  had  extended  several  miles 
northward.  Suitable  roads  and  bridges,  however,  had 
not  been  constructed,  but  those  first  settlers  needed  the 
gospel,  and  Rev.  Samuel  "Weeks  felt  himself  called  upon 
to  supply  their  wants  to  the  full  extent  of  his  ability.  In 
the  winter  of  1795,  he  attended  an  evening  meeting  in 
Porter,  an  adjoining  tOAvn,  and,  on  his  return,  while 
crossing  a  branch  of  the  Ossipee,  the  ice  broke,  his  horse 
stumbled,  and  he  was  thrown  into  the  water.  In  the  con- 
fusion of  his  misfortune,  and  the  darkness  of  the  night,  he 


1795.]  WEEKS    LOST.  127 

lost  his  path,  and  could  not  find  the  spotted  trees,  marked 
for  the  guidance  of  travellers.  He  wandered  about,  and 
called  for  help,  but  called  in  vain.  Not  daring  to  proceed 
in  any  direction,  lest  he  might  go  still  farther  from  settle- 
ments, he  decided  to  make  the  best  of  his  condition,  and 
wait  till  morning.  His  drenched  clothes  were  soon  fro- 
zen, and  he  began  to  feel  the  drowsy  sensations  of  extreme 
cold  creeping  over  him.  To  fall  asleep  in  that  situation, 
he  well  knew  would  be  to  sleep  in  death  ;  and  so  he  wal- 
lowed back  and  forth  in  the  snow,  sometimes  leaning 
against  a  tree  for  rest,  till  he  dared  stand  still  no  longer. 
In  spite  of  his  best  efforts,  it  seemed  at  times  as  if  he  must 
yield,  not  so  much  to  the  severity  of  the  cold,  as  to  the 
pressing  demands  of  his  benumbed  senses,  and  sleep  for 
awhile.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  keeping  himself 
awake  ;  and  thus  passed  a  long,  cold  night  in  January. 

As  the  morning  dawned,  he  found  the  path,  and  soon 
came  to  a  settlement,  faint,  exhausted,  and  severely  fro- 
zen. He  was  taken  home,  suffered  intensely,  and  was 
obliged  to  have  every  toe  on  both  feet  wholly  amputated. 
That  awful  night  was  too  much  for  his  physical,  nervous, 
and  mental  nature.  He  was  never  afterwards  free  fi'oni- 
suffering,  and  his  mind,  sympathizing  with  the  body,  be- 
came impaired.  He  once  rallied  for  a  year  or  two,  and 
was  somewhat  like  himself  again,  but  soon  relapsed  into 
a  state  of  despair,  from  which  he  never  recovered.  For 
thirty  years  he  neither  preached  nor  did  any  kind  of 
business,  but  spent  most  of  his  time  in  reading  his  Bible, 
which  became  so  worn  by  the  turning  of  the  leaves,  that 
the  margin  was  entirely  gone,  and,  in  many  places,  a  part 
of  the  printed  page.  Unfortunate  man  !  he  fell  at  his 
post,  disabled  for  active  service  ;  and,  after  suffering 
physically  and  mentally  for  thirty-seven  years,  he  departed 
for  the  land  of  rest,  June  19,  1832,  aged  86. 

"  No  chilling  wind  nor  poisonous  breath 
Can  reach  that  healthful  shore  ; 
Sickness  and  sorrow,  pain  and  death, 
Are  felt  and  feared  no  more." 


128  MAINE.  [1795. 

Wlien  the  Yearly  Meeting  convened  at  Westport  in 
September,  the  Eclgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  Avas  in  doubt 
whether  to  sustain,  or  give  up  its  organization,  as  it  had 
but  one  minister  residing  within  its  limits,  and  he  was  not 
very  active  at  this  time.  Brethren  from  those  churches 
were  exhorted  to  halt  no  longer,  but  arise  and  sustain  their 
meeting.  "  A  most  wonderful  relation  by  Sally  Parsons,^ 
as  to  her  trials  and  deliverance,"  was  followed  by  an  ap- 
peal to  the  churches  ;  and  the  Quarterly  Meeting  from 
that  time  never  faltered. 

The  November  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  was  held 
with  the  church  in  Gorham,  which  was  found  to  be  in  a 
very  low,  tried  condition ;  and  the  church  at  Gray  and 
New  Gloucester  had  become  nearly  extinct,  owing  to  the 
trial  already  noticed.  Randall  was  publicly  charged  as 
the  cause  of  these  declensions,  by  his  encouraging  the 
disaffected  ones  in  both  churches.  But  the  record  says, 
'^  On  examination,  found  the  above  charge  to  be  very  un- 
just, which  was  acknowledged."  After  this,  the  Gorham 
church  publicly  confessed  that  it  "  had  been  misinformed 
and  somewhat  jealous  of  Randall,  and  had  judged  him 
wrongfully." 

The  church  in  PhiUips  had  previously  requested  the  or- 
dination of  Francis  Tufts,  and  it  had  been  deferred  be- 
cause of  non-acquaintance  with  his  gift.  All  were  now 
of  the  opinion  that  he  was  weU-adapted  to  public  useful- 
ness, and  the  Yearly  Meeting,  in  September,  sent  a  com- 
mittee to  Sandy  river,  with  discretionary  power  as  to  his 
ordination.  A  part  of  them  immediately  went  to  Phillips, 
where  he  was  ordained  as  Ruling  Elder  ;  a  sermon  being 
preached  on  the  occasion  by  Ephraim  Stinchfield,  himself 
unordained.  By  virtue  of  this  ordination.  Tufts  not  only 
administered  the  ordinances,  but  preached  extensively. 
The  Farmington  and  Anson  churches  were  now  favored 
with  precious  revivals. 

^  See  Second  Decade. 


1796.]  CHURCH  TRIALS.  129 

A  church  of  sixteen  members  was  embodied  in  Leba- 
non, September  24th,  by  Rev.  John  Buzzell.  His  first 
visit  to  tliat  place  was  to  attend  a  funeral,  and  so  large 
was  the  congregation  that  they  repaired  to  an  orchard, 
where  he  stood  upon  a  table,  and  preached  to  a  weeping 
audience.  He  was  soon  requested  to  go  there  and  baptize  ; 
John  Blaisdell,  afterwards  an  eminent  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel, being  one  of  the  first  converts. 

In  1796  there  was  much  irregularity  in  many  of  the 
churches,  trials  existed,  and  several  of  the  public  gifts 
were  either  withheld,  or  obtruded  upon  the  people.  The 
churches  in  Gorham  and  Westport  were  in  trouble  ;  and 
Parsonsfield,  Gray  and  New  Gloucester,  and  Durham, 
were  in  a  low,  scattered  situation.  Committees  had  visit- 
ed them,  and  a  few  in  each  place  had  renewed  covenant, 
and  only  a  few.  Farmington  said  to  the  Yearly  Meeting, 
"  Think  of  us,  and  send  us  some  help."  Raymond  sent  a 
request  for  help,  saying,  "  We  are  weak,  bordering  on 
divisions,  with  complaints  of  various  kinds." 

The  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting,  early  in  the  season, 
appointed  Lock  to  travel  among  the  churches,  preach  the 
word,  and  administer  the  ordinances  once  in  three  months, 
or  oftener.  In  September,  a  special  Regulating  Commit- 
tee from  the  Yearly  Meeting,  with  Randall  as  chairman, 
visited  these  churches.  At  Seven  Mile  Brook  [Anson  and 
Embden],  the  reading  of  sermons  on  the  Sabbath,  in  the 
absence  of  a  minister,  had  caused  division.  The  subject 
was  considered,  and  all  agreed  "  to  drop  reading  authors, 
and  wait  upon  the  Lord."  At  Farmington  a  trial  existed 
in  regard  to  open  communion,  which  was  satisfactorily 
adjusted  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  the  denomina- 
tion. At  Phillips  the  church  was  divided  as  to  the  right 
of  women  to  speak  in  meeting,  and  the  committee  satisfied 
all  that  it  was  not  only  right,  but  might  be  a  duty.  Peace 
was  restored  in  all  these  churches. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting  now  voted  that  Francis  Tufts 
be  requested  and  authorized  to  apply  to  the  General  Court 


130  MAINE.  [1796. 

in  Massachusetts,^  for  an  act  of  incorporation  for  the 
churches,  that  they  might  be  relieved  from  religious  taxa- 
tion.    The  effort  was  unsuccessful. 

At  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Gorham,  November  7th,  there 
was  an  unusual  degree  of  the  Divine  presence  ;  and  another 
Quarterly  Meeting  was  authorized,  to  be  called  the  Gor- 
ham Quarterly  Meeting,  embracing  the  churches  in  the 
westerly  part  of  Maine,  viz. :  Gorham,  Buxton,  Hollis, 
Waterborough,  Parsonsfield,  Gray  and  New  Gloucester, 
Raymond,  and  Poland.  When  and  where  the  meeting  was 
organized  is  not  known,  as  the  records  do  not  commence 
till  January,  1799.  But  it  did  organize  immediately,  and 
regularly  reported  itself  to  the  Yearly  Meeting. 

Stinchfield  relates  an  incident  that  occurred  this  year, 
which,  condensed,  reads  as  follows  :  "  In  October  I  had  an 
appointment  to  preach  in  the  upper  part  of  Lewiston,  and 
on  my  way  there,  left  an  appointment  to  preach  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  town  in  the  evening.  The  meeting  was 
at  the  house  of  a  Calvinistic  Baptist,  and  the  minister,  and 
many  of  his  church,  were  present.  I  spoke  with  freedom, 
and  was  followed  by  several,  in  approbation  of  what  they 
had  heard,  particularly  the  man  of  the  house,  at  whose 
urgent  request  the  meeting  was  appointed.  At  the  close 
of  the  service  many  lingered,  and  a  stranger  asked,  '  Are 
you  what  is  called  a  freewiller  f  '  I  am,'  said  I.  '  Do 
your  brethren  in  general  believe  as  you  have  now  preach- 
ed ?'  '  They  do,'  was  the  reply.  '  It  is  strange,'  said  he, 
*  how  people  will  misrepresent  things.  I  was  loath  to 
come  to  this  meeting,  but  I  bless  God  that  I  came.  My 
soul  has  been  fed.'  Some  of  the  Calvinists  found  fault, 
but  I  felt  strong  in  the  truth,  and,  in  my  own  estimation, 
put  them  all  to  silence. 

"  I  came  home  the  next   day,  feeling  that  I  '  had  run 

through  a  troop,     *     *     and  leaped  over  a  wall ;'  but  I 

had  forgotten  to  acknowledge  that  it  was  in  the  strength 

of  the  Lord  that  I  did  it.     Feeling  strong  in  my  o^v^\ 

*  Maine  was  then  a  District— a  part  of  Massachusetts  till  1820, 


1797.}  CHURCHES   ORGANIZED.  131 

strength,  I  sent  an  appointment  where  I  had  never  preach- 
ed, and  left  word  for'  the  minister  and  people  of  the  Con- 
gregational society  to  be  notified.  I  attended,  and,  in 
the  midst  of  my  discourse,  was  so  confounded  with  the 
fear  of  man  that  I  knew  not  what  I  said.  The  minister 
objected  to  some  of  my  positions,  but  I  could  say  little  in 
reply.  For  three  months  I  never  appointed  another  meet- 
ing, and,  in  that  time,  passed  through  an  awful  furnace. 
So  much  for  getting  self-important." 

Very  precious  revivals,  though  not  extensive,  were  en- 
joyed this  year  in  Parsonsfield,  Buxton,  Gorham,  Ray- 
mond, Durham,  and  "Woolwich. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  in  1797  convened  at  Parsonsfield,, 
in  February,  and  the  four  Quarterly  Meetings  'were  all 
reported,  besides  letters  from  several  of  the  churches.  It 
was  generally  a  low  time,  and  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
was  appointed,  which  proved  a  very  great  blessing  to  the 
churches. 

Samuel  Tasker,  a  Ruling  Elder  from  New  Durham, 
had  attended  a  few  meetings  in  Newfield  during  the  two 
preceding  years,  and  John  Buzzell  had  preached  there  oc- 
casionally. A  few  had  been  converted,  and,  on  the  6th  of 
March,  Randall,  Tingley,  and  Buzzell  met  with  them,  and 
embodied  a  church  of  three  members,  all  men.  The  next 
year  Nathaniel  Jordan  removed  to  Newfield,  and  in  him 
the  church  found  a  reliable  support.  His  spirit  was  ex- 
cellent, and  his  gift  in  prayer  and  exhortation  made  way 
for  him,  not  only  in  town,  but  in  adjoining  towns,  where 
he  held  social  meetings,  and  revivals  followed. 

Under  the  labors  of  Stinchfield,  revivals  were  enjoyed 
in  Waterborough  and  Lincoln ville.  A  church  in  Bristol 
first  reported  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  this  year,  under 
the  name  of  the  "  Back  River  "  church  ;  and  a  tolerable 
degree  of  prosperity  appears  to  have  attended  the  churches 
in  Maine. 

Early  in  1798,  Rev.  John  Buzzell  removed  from  New 
Hampshire  to  Parsojisfield,  where  he  lived  and  labored  for 


132  MAINE.  [1798. 

more  than  sixty  years.  He  attended  that  memorable 
Yearly  Meeting  in  New  Durham,  N.  H.,  in  June,  a  full 
account  of  which  is  given  in  the  next  chapter,  and  return- 
ed with  his  soul  all  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Christ.  He 
was  living  at  this  time  in  the  same  house  with  another 
pious  man,  and  the  two  families  came  together  for  morn- 
ing prayers.  One  Saturday  morning,  four  youths,  then 
living  in  the  two  families,  became  affected,  and  followed 
in  prayer  for  themselves.  Their  salvation  was  the  first 
thing  to  be  sought,  and,  the  news  of  their  anxiety  spread- 
ing through  the  neighborhood,  many  came  in,  either  to 
pray  for  the  penitent,  or  receive  for  themselves  the  prayers 
of  others.  From  8  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  12  at 
uight,  the  time  was  spent  in  prayer,  singing,  and  relig- 
ious conversation  ;  two  having  found  mercy  in  the  mean- 
time. 

A  meeting  was  held  the  next  day,  June  17th,  at  a  large 
barn  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  and,  just  as  the  after- 
noon service  was  about  to  commence,  one  of  the  young 
men  that  had  found  peace  the  day  before,  spoke  a  few 
words  expressive  of  his  feelings,  and  exhorted  others  to 
become  Christians.  Some  thoughtless  youth  were  ob- 
served to  make  sport  of  this,  and  Buzzell,  grieved  in  spirit, 
said,  "  I  feel  impressed,  my  young  friends,  to  address  you 
in  the  words  of  Christ — '  Woe  unto  you  that  laugh  now, 
for  ye  shall  mourn  and  weep.'  "  It  seemed  as  if  he  spoke 
by  inspiration,  and  the  power  of  God  accompanied  the 
remark.  At  that  moment  Sally  Parsons,  from  Edgecomb, 
commenced  an  exhortation  that  carried  conviction  to  every 
heart.  The  very  person  that  had  been  most  forward  in 
exciting  the  levity,  was  the  first  to  fall  upon  her  knees  and 
call  for  mercy.  Others  followed  her  example,  till,  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon,  forty  or  fifty  were  mourning  over 
their  lost  condition.  There  was  no  more  preaching  for 
the  day,  but  many  prayers,  and  much  personal  instruction. 
As  night  approached,  some  retired  to  the  house  and  con- 
tinued their   prayers   and   praise.     Meetings  were  held 


1798.]  HOLLis  And  WATiiKBOEOiTGg.  133 

somewhere  in  town  every  day,  and,  midsummer  though  it 
was,  for  three  weeks  two  daily  prayer  meetings  were  sus- 
tained, one  at  sunrise,  and  the  other  at  sunset,  of  just  one 
hour's  continuance.  During  this  revival.  Weeks  seemed 
to  rise  above  his  despairing  state  of  mind,  and  hopes  were 
entertained,  for  a  year  or  two,  that  he  would  be  himself 
again. 

So  general  was  the  work  in  town,  that  another  church 
of  about  one  hundred  members  was  this  year  organized. 
Nor  was  Parsonsfield  the  only  place  watered  by  this  re- 
freshing shower  ;  but  every  adjoining  town  shared  in  the 
gracious  work.  In  Limington,  a  church  was  orgaBized 
soon  after,  through  the  effort^  of  Deacon  Andrew  Cobb 
and  Elisha  Strout,  who  had  recently  removed  hither  from 
Gorham. 

Very  precious  revivals  were  also  enjoyed  at  HoUis  and 
Waterborough.  At  the  former  place  the  revival  began 
on  this  wise  :  A  gentleman  was  building  a  house,  and  as 
the  time  for  its  occupancy  drew  nigh,  the  young  people 
began  to  tease  him  for  a  '•'■  house-warming."^  Desirous  of 
turning  their  attention  from  vain  amusements  to  substan- 
tial joys,  the  owner  invited  Mr.  Buzzell  to  preach  at  his 
house  on  the  evening  of  his  removal.  The  attendance 
was  large,  and  he  was  Divinely  assisted  in  speaking  from 
the  text,  "  This  day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house." 
The  first  who  manifested  a  desire  for  salvation  was  the 
leader  in  parties  of  pleasure  ;  and  his  desires  were  real* 
ized  before  the  meeting  closed.  Others  were  interested, 
and  many  soon  rejoiced  in  the  Saviour's  love. 

The  church  in  Waterborough  became  large  and  flour* 
ishing ;  and  about  this  time  Levi  Chadbourne  commenced 
preaching  there,  who  soon  joined  the  Calvinistic  Baptists, 
and  all  the  church  with  him,  save  eight  members.  These 
eight  rallied  around  the  standard  of  free  salvation,  and 
another  church  was  organized  by  Tingley,  which  became 

^  Name  given  to  a  promiscuous  party  gathered  on  the  evening  of  qne'ft 
removal  into  a  new  house. 

12 


134  MAINE.  [1798. 

strong  and  useful  under  the  labors  of  Henry  Hobbs,  who 
this  year  commenced  preaching. 

In  the  Edgecomb  and  Farmington  Quarterly  Meetings, 
there  was  no  particular  interest,  and  several  of  the  church- 
es were  in  a  low,  divided  state.  Nine  persons  were  reject- 
ed from  the  latter  Quarterly  Meeting  at  one  time,  and  the 
year  was  one  of  gi'eat  trials. 

The  Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting  was  organized  in 
1798,  embracing  the  churches  in  the  westerly  part  of  the 
Gorham  Quarterly  Meeting,  viz. :  Parsonsfield,  Liming- 
ton,  HoEis  and  Waterborough.  The  church  in  Newfield 
joined  soon  after.  Samuel  Weeks,  John  Buzzell  and  Pel- 
atiah  Tingley  were  the  only  ordained  ministers  at  first, 
but  no  records  can  now  be  found  prior  to  1829. 

Stinchfield  went  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  in  Au- 
gust, and  preached  in  many  of  the  new  settlements  on  the 
Penobscot  river.  He  went  up  as  far  as  Marsh  Bay,  and 
was  greatly  comforted  by  sweet  meditation  on  the  prom- 
ise, "  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth,  bearing  precious 
seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing 
his  sheaves  with  him."  He  preached  in  a  barn  at  Bris- 
tol on  his  return,  from  Gen.  19:  17,  "Escape  for  thy 
life."  The  audience  was,  at  first,  indifferent,  but  soon  be- 
came attentive,  and  appeared  to  receive  the  seed  of  truth, 
sown  in  great  faithfulness.  The  harvest  was  gathered  a 
little  more  than  a  year  after Avards. 

The  ordination  of  Ephraim  Stinchfield  had  been  re- 
quested, and  postponed  from  time  to  time,  tiD  it  finally 
came  before  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Gorham.  Some  were 
still  unacquainted  with  his  gift,  and  it  was  proposed  that 
he  should  preach  a  "  trial "  sermon.  He  did  so  Novem- 
ber 8th,  and  it  proved  to  be  his  ordination  sermon.  All 
doubts  were  removed,  and  he  was  immediately  inducted 
into  the  sacred  ofiice.  Buzzell  made  the  prayer,  Randall 
gave  the  charge,  and  Tingley  the  hand  of  fellowship. 
While  upon  his  knees,  with  the  hands  of  the  presbytery 
upon  his  head,  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Hamblin, 


1799,]  REVIVAL   AT   LINCOLNVILLE.  135 

who  had  been  convicted  during  the  sermon,  fell  from  his 
seat,  and  began  to  cry  for  mercy.  He  found  peace  that 
.same  day,  and  afterwards  became  a  minister  in  the  Chris- 
tian denomination.  A  revival  followed  this  meeting,  and 
the  church  was  greatly  strengthened. 

Joseph  Hutchinson,  of  Windham,  was  ordained  this 
year,  but  when,  where,  and  by  whom,  we  cannot  tell. 
Allusions  are  made  to  him  as  an  active  Christian  in  1790, 
and  his  life,  though  short,  was  useful. 

John  M.  Bailey,  of  "Woolwich,  was  also  ordained  this 
year,  by  Timothy  Cunningham  and  Dea.  Daniel  Duntou, 
neither  of  them  being  ordained  ministers  at  the  time, 
though  ordained  as  RuKng  Elder  and  Deacon. 

The  records  of  the  Gorham  Quarterly  Meeting  com- 
mence with  the  year  1799,  two  years  after  its  organiza- 
tion, when  Rev.  Zachariah  Leach  was  chosen  Clerk. 
The  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  convened  at  Lincoln- 
ville  in  January,  and  great  efforts  were  made  to  reconcile 
the  disaffected  members  of  that  church.  On  the  last  day 
of  the  meeting,  they  "reentered  on  the  business  of  the 
Canaan  branch  [Lincolnville],  in  the  course  of  which 
there  were  great  travail  of  soul  and  cries  to  the  Lord  for 
aid,  when  there  was  a  very  great  and  marvellous  breaking 
forth  of  the  power  and  glory  of  Grod  ;  and  eighteen  breth- 
ren and  sisters  appeared  to  break  through  their  shrouds, 
and  manifested  a  determination  to  come  up  to  the  work  of 
the  Lord.  All  glory  to  God."^  The  gracious  work  thus 
begun,  continued  for  more  than  three  months,  bringing 
many  of  all  classes  to  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  up  to  the  joys 
of  the  higher  life. 

At  the  opening  of  the  May  session,  a  solemn  season  of 
devotion  was  enjoyed,  in  view  of  God's  sparing  mercy  to 
the  living,  and  the  sad  removal  of  Ebenezer  Brookings,  of 
Woolwich.  He  was  instantly  killed  a  few  days  before,  by 
the  falling  back  of  the  stump  of  an  overturned  tree,  while 
at  work  under  its  roots.  He  was  one  of  the  original 
^  Records  of  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting,  p.  29. 


136  -  iiAiNE.  [1799. 

members  of  tlie  church,  and  its  Ruling  Elder  and  principal 
pillar  for  seventeen  years. 

Early  in  the  season,  Stinchfield  visited  the  Farmington 
Quarterly  Meeting,  and  found  the  churches  generally  in  a 
low  state.  At  Belgrade  and  "West  Pond  plantation  [now 
Rome]  many  were  converted — not  less  than  twenty  in 
one  meeting.  After  an  absence  of  four  weeks,  he  found, 
on  his  return,  that  the  Lord  had  not  only  visited  New 
Gloucester,  but  his  own  family.  Several  young  ladies 
had  called  at  his  house  one  morning,  in  distress  of  mind 
because  of  their  sins.  His  wife  conversed  and  prayed 
with  them,  they  prayed  for  themselves,  and  thus  the  entire 
day  was  spent  without  food  or  labor  ;  but  in  the  evening, 
four  of  the  anxious  found  peace.  The  next  week  he  bap- 
tized three  of  them,  his  own  daughter  being  one  of  the 
number ;  and  the  occasion  was  the  more  joyful  to  him, 
since  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  administered  the  ordi- 
nance. He  returned  to  Belgrade  the  first  of  July,  and 
baptized,  and  united  with  the  church  there,  sixteen  of  the 
happy  converts. 

The  year  commenced  with  a  good  religious  interest  in 
many  places  in  "Western  Maine,  and  the  converts  from 
New  Hampshire  came  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Parsons- 
field,  in  large  numbers.  A  good  revival  was  progressing 
in  that  town,  and  Randall  preached  to  the  converts  from 
Solomon's  Song,  8:5,  "  Who  is  this  that  cometh  up  from 
the  wilderness,  leaning  upon  her  beloved  ?"  The  sermon 
was  appropriate  and  powerful.  Hundreds  could  say  that 
they  were  coming  up  out  of  the  wilderness  of  sin,  leaning 
upon  Christ  as  their  beloved,  while  many  Avere  saying, 
"  O  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him !"  It  was  an 
evening  meeting,  and  continued  through  the  night,  and 
most  of  the  next  day.  Five  there  indulged  a  hope  in 
Christ,  and  others  did  soon  after. 

The  great  revival  in  New  Hampshire,  that  commenced 
with  the  Yearly  Meeting  the  preceding  year,  and  contin- 
ued through  the  present  year,  was  the  wonder   of  the 


1799.]  EEVIVAL   IN  BRISTOL.  137 

times.  At  the  August  session  of  the  Edgecomb  Quarter- 
ly Meeting,  Levi  Temple,  who  had  attended  the  Yearly 
Meeting  at  New  Durham,  in  June,  was  requested  to  give 
a  relation  of  what  he  there  saw  and  heard.  He  did  so, 
at  considerable  length.  "  The  account,"  says  John  Mc- 
Farland,  "  seemed  to  kindle  such  a  heavenly  fire  in  our 
souls,  that  the  place  where  we  were  assembled  appeared 
filled  with  the  glory  of  God,  and  our  hearts  and  voices, 
with  one  accord,  gave  praise  to  God  and  the  Lamb." 
Buzzell  attended  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  at  the 
same  time,  and  "  gave  an  account  of  the  wonderful  works 
of  God  in  the  "Western  Quarterly  Meetings,  to  very  great 
satisfaction." 

One  of  the  most  sweeping  revivals  was  this  year  expe- 
rienced in  Bristol,  that  ever  blessed  the  State  of  Maine. 
As  Stinchfield  was  on  his  way  to  the  October  Quarterly 
Meeting,  to  be  held  in  that  town,  he  heard  of  the  gracious 
work  and  hastened  on.  One  of  the  fij-st  salutations  with 
which  he  was  there  greeted,  came  from  a  pious  lady,  who 
said,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  You  have  come  now  to 
reap  the  fruit  of  your  labor.  The  seed  of  this  reforma- 
tion was  sown  fourteen  months  ago,  when  you  preached 
at  the  barn.  This  people  never  forgot  that  sermon ;  I 
have  ever  since  observed  an  uncommon  solemnity  on 
their  minds."  The  work  had  been  in  progress  for  a 
month,  and  many  were  now  anxious  for  baptism.  The 
afternoon  meeting  of  the  second  day  was  appointed  at  the 
water-side,  for  the  administration  of  the  ordinance.  The 
place  was  one  of  Nature's  favorite  baptistries,  being  "  a 
beautiful  cove  on  the  sea-shore,  surrounded  by  rising 
land,  except  where  it  opens  into  the  ocean."  The  occa- 
sion was  one  of  interest,  the  day — October  17th — was 
delightful,  and  the  attendance  was  large^  Some  had 
come  from  love  to  the  cause,  some  from  a  desire  to  find 
the  Saviour,  some  from  curiosity,  and  some  from  opposi- 
tion. A  substitute  for  a  pulpit  was  hastily  constructed 
of  drift-wood,  and  about  one  o'clock  the  services  com- 
12* 


138  MAINE.  [1799. 

menced.  StincMeld  preached  from  Acts  2  :  41,  "  Then 
they  that  gladly  received  the  word  were  baptized."  Be- 
fore the  sermon  was  ended,  many  fell  under  the  power 
of  God,  and  lay  on  the  grass,  or  the  beach,  crying  for 
mercy.  Among  the  number  were  several  of  a  boat's 
crew,  that  came  from  Pemaquid  [a  part  of  Bristol],  in 
high  glee,  to  enjoy  the  novelty  of  the  scene.  Eleven  of 
the  twelve  were  there  convicted  of  sin,  and  soon  convert- 
ed. After  sermon,  the  candidates  briefly  related  their 
experience,  and  many  of  them  referred  to  the  sermon  in 
the  barn,  as  the  time  when  their  attention  was  first  seri- 
ously called  to  the  subject.  The  interest  awakened  by 
the  sermon,  did  not  languish  during  the  relation  of  expe- 
riences, and  rather  increased  when  the  administration 
commenced.  As  the  candidates  came  up  from  the  bap- 
tismal waters,  the  countenances  of  many  were  radiant  with 
the  love  of  God  then  filling  their  hearts  ;  and  their  shouts 
of  glory  could  not  be  suppressed.  Forty-one  thus  fol- 
lowed their  Saviour  in  this  blessed  ordinance.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  day  of  Pentecost  had  again  come,  and  was  open- 
ing its  blessings  upon  them.  Old  saints  responded  to 
the  shouts  of  praise  from  the  young,  and  mingled  with 
these,  were  the  cries  of  wounded  sinners  ;  so  that,  as  when 
Zerubbabel  relaid  the  foundations  of  the  temple,  "  the  noise 
was  heard  afar  ofi"." 

The  supper  was  administered  the  next  day,  and  about 
sixty  converts  came  to  the  table  with  Christians  of  longer 
experience.  Colonel  Mclntire  and  family,  with  several  of 
his  neighbors,  constituted  the  company  that  went  to  the 
baptism  by  boat,  and,  at  his  request,  a  large  meeting 
was  held  at  his  house  on  the  19th  inst.  Here,  too,  the 
Lord  was  present,  and  several  found  delivering  grace.  In 
the  short  space  of  five  days,  sixty  were  baptized  and  added 
to  the  church. 

Stinchfield  says,  "  I  concluded  that  I  should  never 
doubt  any  more,  whether  I  could  see  any  of  the  efiects  of 
my  "preaching  at  the  time,  or  not.    And  sweet  was  the 


1799.]        J.  BLAISDELL   AND    G.  LORD    ORDAINED.  139 

comfort  I  experienced  in  contemplating  that  God  lias  said, 
'  In  the  morning  sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  with- 
hold not  thy  hand  ;  for  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall 
prosper,  either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall  be 
alike  good.'     '  They  that  sow  in  tears,  shall  reap  in  joy.'" 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Rev.  Edward  Lock  had 
been  associated  with  the  Shakers  more  than  half  the  time 
since  the  establishment  of  Free  Baptist  churches,  and  did 
not  drink  in  of  the  free  spirit  of  his  brethren.  He  still 
adhered  to  the  usages  of  the  Calvinists,  against  free  com- 
munion, and  the  dismission  of  members  to  other  denomi- 
nations. These  doctrines  he  taught  with  unyielding  per- 
sistency in  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  direct 
opposition  to  the  known  action  of  the  Yearly  Meeting, 
In  November,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  reported  itself  "  un- 
der great  trials,"  but,  as  they  extend  into  the  next  Decade, 
they  wiU  here  be  no  further  considered. 

By  request,  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  November  sent  a 
committee  to  Coxhall,  to  attend  to  such  business  as  might 
be  found  necessary  to  the  interests  of  religion  in  that  place. 

A  council  from  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting 
[N.  H.]  convened  with  the  Lebanon  church  November 
21st,  and  ordained  John  Blaisdell  and  Gershom  Lord. 
Blaisdell  was  an  excellent  pastor,  and  his  favorite  theme 
in  preaching  was,  the  love  of  God  as  seen  in  man's  redemp- 
tion. His  labors  at  home  were  wonderfully  blessed,  and 
a  large  portion  of  his  townsmen  became  members  of  his 
own  church.  "  Lord  appeared  to  be  a  serious  young  man, 
had  an  extraordinary  gift  of  speaking,  and  was  much  ad- 
mired by  many ;"  '^  but  a  lawsuit  between  him  and  the 
clergyman  of  the  place,  being  decided  against  him,  he 
soon  left  for  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

Revivals,  in  addition  to  those  already  mentioned,  were 
this  year  enjoyed  in  Newfield,  Waterborough,  Gorham, 
Raymond,   Poland,   Hebron,   Durham,   Georgetown  and 
Lincoln  viUe. 
''  Religious  Magazine,  p.  194. 


i40  MAINE,  [1799, 

The  following  churclies  have  been  reported  as  organized 
during  this  decade  :  In  1791,  Kittery  and  Waterborough  ; 
'92,  Boothbay  and  Raymond  ;  '93,  Farmington  and  Wil- 
ton ;  '94,  Belgrade,  BaUstown,  Embden  and  Phillips ; 
'95,  Buxton,  Burnham  and  Lebanon  ;  '97,  Newfield;  '98, 
Limington,  2  Parsonsfield  and  Poland  ;  '99,  Berwick 
and  Kittery,  and  Hebron. 

The  ordinations  during  this  decade,  as  abeady  noticed, 
were  seven — Zachariah  Leach,  Francis  Tufts,  Ephraim 
Stinchfield,  Joseph  Hutchinson,  John  IM.  Bailey,  John 
BlaisdeU  and  Gershom  Lord, 


1792.]  ORDINATIONS.  141 


CHAPTER  VII. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
1792—1800. 

Ordination  of  Buzzell  and  Townsend — Church  in  Wolf  borough — Shep- 
herd Restored — Ordination  of  Lord  and  Knowlton — Gilmanton  Iron 
Works — Canterbury — Ordination  of  Young — Good  Quarterly  Meetings 
— ^Day  of  Fasting — ^Remarkable  Yearly  Meeting  in  1798 — Ordination  of 
Ballard — Quarterly  Meeting  in  August — Ordination  of  Aaron  Buzzell 
— ^Yearly  Meeting — Unity  Quarterly  Meeting — ^New  Interests — Rich- 
ard Martin — Ordination  of  Otis,  Boody,  Pottle  and  Jackson — Churches 
Organized — Ministers. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  the  Yearly  Meeting  was  not 
originally  local  in  its  jurisdiction,  but  took  cognizance  of 
requests  and  events  from  any  and  all  parts  of  the  denomi- 
nation. Neither  was  the  line  of  distinction  between  its 
appropriate  business  and  that  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
very  clearly  drawn.  Hence,  requests  were  presented  to 
the  Yearly  Meeting  in  "Westport,  Maine,  for  the  ordination 
of  John  Buzzell  and  Isaac  Townsend,  of  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  and  they  were  so  far  entertained  as  to  put  John 
Whitney  on  the  ordaining  councU,  in  behalf  of  the  Yearly 
Meeting.  Seven  others  were  added  from  the  New  Dur- 
ham Quarterly  Meeting,  and  they  met  at  Middleton,  the 
residence  of  Buzzell,  October  24th.  He  first  preached  a 
sermon,  "  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  those  who  were 
chosen  to  hear  him  on  trial."  He  then  "  gave  a  relation 
of  his  conversion  and  call  to  the  ministry  ;  was  examin- 
ed and  cross-questioned  on  many  points ;  and  then,  the 
whole  council,  one  by  one,  gave  in  their  minds,  and  all 
agreed  that  he  is  called,  qualified  and  authorized  by  the 


14:2  NEW  HAMPSHIEE.  [1792, 

Lord  to  preach  the  everlasting  gospel."  ^  Townsend  then 
came  before  the  council,  and  passed  a  similar  examination, 
save  the  "  trial"  sermon,  and  was  unanimously  approved 
as  one  called  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel. 

In  this  connection  it  may  he  observed,  that  an  ordina- 
tion day  was  then  one  of  the  great  days  of  the  year. 
Under  the  stiU  prevalent  influence  of  the  old  Puritan  prac- 
tice, the  town  defrayed  the  expenses  Avhen  a  Congrega- 
tionalist  was  ordained,  often  including  a  public  dinner, 
and  sometimes  the  rum{!).  Hence,  men,  women  and 
children  were  all  desirous  of  attending.  A  procession  was 
sometimes  formed,  led  by  a  band  of  music,  as  many  of 
the  living  can  well  recollect,  and,  while  the  solemn  work 
of  inducting  a  man  into  the  gospel  ministry  was  progres- 
sing in  the  sanctuaiy,  buying  and  selling,  drinking  and 
carousing,  horse-swapping  and  horse-racing,  were  the  or- 
der of  the  day  without. 

At  Middleton  there  was  nothing  calculated  to  call  out 
"  the  baser  sort,"  but  the  simple  fact  that  there  was  to  be 
an  ordination ;  and  that  was  enough.  Notice  of  the  time 
and  place  had  been  given,  in  anticipation  of  the  council's 
decision,  and  the  news  spread  as  on  the  wings  of  the  wind  ; 
so  that  everybody  was  on  tiptoe,  awaiting  the  occasion. 
The  day  after  the  examination,  when  the  council  and  can- 
didate repaired  to  the  place  of  ordination  at  ten  o'clock, 
not  less  than  two  thousand  people  had  assembled,  and,  to 
their  very  great  grief,  the  works  of  wickedness  had  begun. 
But  it  Avas  one  of  the  customs  of  the  times,  for  which  they 
were  not  responsible,  and  there  being  no  alternative  but 
quiet  endurance,  the  exercises  commenced  at  the  appointed 
hour.  Randall  preached  from  2  Cor.  5  :  20,  "  Now, 
then,  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ,"  &c.  Weeks  pray- 
ed at  the  laying  on  of  hands,  and  gave  the  charge,  and 
Whitney  gave  the  hand  of  fellowship.  Says  the  candidate, 
"  Many  heard  with  candor,  perhaps  a  thousand,  and  it  may 
be  that  mqre  than  a  thousand  more,  whose  souls  were  as 
^  Records  of  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting,  Vol.  I.,  p.  11. 


1792.]  ORDINATION   OF   TOWNSEND.  143 

precious  as  theirs,  hardly  so  much  as  received  the  seed  by 
the  wayside." 

The  day  following,  October  26th,  Townsend  was  set  apart 
to  the  work  of  the  ministry,  at  his  own  house  in  Wolf  bor- 
ough. On  the  same  day,  a  Congregational  church  of 
eight  members  was  organized,  and  a  minister  ordained,  in 
another  part  of  the  town  ;  and  those  services  being  under 
the  direction  of  the  town  authorities,  the  general  attrac 
tions  were  all  there,  so  that  the  pious,  order-loving  peo- 
ple were  left  to  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  own  privi- 
leges. The  attendance,  however,  was  large,  and  the 
meeting  solemn. 

Townsend  Avas  the  son  of  a  "New  Light"  Congre- 
gational clergyman,  and  born  in  New  Market,  in  1756. 
He  experienced  religion  when  only  eight  years  of  age, 
enlisted  as  a  soldier  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  was 
taken  prisoner  and  carried  to  Halifax,  and,  after  his  dis- 
charge, settled  in  New  Durham,  where  he  was  baptized 
by  Randall,  and  united  with  the  church  in  1782.  He  soon 
removed  to  Wolf  borough,  and  commenced  preaching,  his 
manner  of  communication  being  instructive  rather  than 
awakening.  Six  days  before  his  ordination,  a  church  of 
eight  members  was  embodied  there,  which  was  the  first 
in  town.  The  covenant  is  still  extant,  and  in  Randall's 
hand- writing.  The  first  members  of  this  church  were 
tried  and  oppressed. 

At  a  legal  town  meeting  in  August,  say  the  records,  it 
was  "Voted  to  give  Mr.  Ebenezer  Allen  a  call  to  settle 
as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  in  this  town."  He  accepted 
the  call,  and  was  ordained  as  above  stated  ;  but  under  a 
protest  from  eighteen  persons,  declaring  that  they  should 
not  aid  in  his  support.  Most  of  them  were  members  of 
Mr.  Townsend's  congi-egation,  and  were  alike  unmoved 
by  threats  or  persuasions.  The  efibrts  of  half  a  dozen 
years  for  the  collection  of  their  tax  proved  unavailing, 
and  it  was  finally  determined  to  make  an  example  of  one 
of  their  number  ;  so  the  cow  of  Thomas  Cotton  was  taken 


144  NEW  HAIUPSHIKE.  [1792. 

for  his   parisli  tax.     The  Quarterly  Meeting  interposed, 
and  sent  the  following  petition  : 

"  To  the  Gentlemen^  Selectmen  of  the  town  of  Wolf  borough : 
"  This  certifieth  that  Thomas  Cotton  is  a  member  of 
this  Quarterly  Meeting  of  Baptists,  in  good  standing,  and 
has  been  so  for  the  space  of  three  years  or  more,  and  we 
think  it  is  reasonable  that  he  should  be  exempt  from  pay- 
ing ministerial  tax  to   any  other  denomination.     As  it  is 
his  desire  to  be  released,  therefore  we  pray  you  to  con- 
sider it.  John  Shepherd,  Moderator. 
Benj'n  Randall,   Clerk. 
"  Quarterly  Meeting,  New  Durham,  ) 
August  23d,  1799."  i 

A  resort  to  such  means  for  sustaining  religion  could  not 
be  successful,  and,  during  the  fourteen  years  of  Mr.  Allen's 
subsequent  life  and  labors,  only  eighteen  were  added  to 
the  church.  After  his  death,  its  decline  was  unchecked, 
so  that  in  1834,  when  a  new  church  was  organized  there, 
not  a  remnant  of  the  old  one  was  found  with  which  to 
build. 

Returning  from  the  November  Yearly  Meeting  in  Gor- 
ham.  Me.,  Randall's  horse  stumbled,  and  precipitated  him 
upon  the  ground.  He  acknowledged  the  hand  of  Provi- 
dence that  kept  himself  from  injury,  but  the  loss  of  his 
horse,  by  a  fracture  of  the  shoulder,  was  a  loss  indeed, 
since  he  was  unable  to  supply  its  place,  and,  without  one, 
he  could  no  longer  travel  and  blow  the  gospel  trumpet. 
At  the  very  next  church  meeting,  it  was  proposed  by  his 
brethren  to  provide  their  pastor  with  another  horse,  al- 
though, by  so  doing,  they  knew  full  well  that  they  would 
deprive  themselves  of  a  greater  proportion  of  his  labors. 
But  they  had  been  trained  in  the  school  of  unselfishness, 
and  the  encouragement  received  from  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing soon  enabled  them  to  effect  their  purpose. 

Allusion  has  ah'eady  been  made  to  John  Shepherd,  Esq., 


1793.]  GILMANTON   IRON-WOKKS.  145 

of  Gilmanton,  a  leading  layman  in  the  establishment  of 
Baptist  churches  with  free  principles.  But  he  was  stag- 
gered in  faith  and  purpose,  when  his  pastor,  Edward 
Lock,  joined  the  Shakers.  At  times  he  was  strongly  in- 
clined to  cooperate  with  them  himself,  and  did  so,  perhaps 
as  much  as  with  any  people.  After  wandering  about  for 
ten  years,  and  being  ill  at  ease  in  his  situation — Lock 
having  removed  to  Maine,  and  returned  to  his  brethren — 
Shepherd  attended  the  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Barnstead  in 
January,  1793,  and  so  reported  himself  that  the  following 
action  was  taken  ;  "  Voted  unanimously  to  receive  broth- 
er John  Shepherd  into  our  fellowship  ;  he  being  returned 
with  a  confession  of  his  backslidings,  and  desiring  to  have 
a  place  in  the  church."  From  this  time  he  was  an  effi- 
cient laborer  in  the  cause,  second  to  none  in  his  interest, 
efforts,  or  the  places  of  trust  he  was  called  to  fill. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  convened  at  New  Durham  June 
8th,  and  continued  four  days.  The  attendance  was  large, 
reports  were  encouraging,  and  baptisms  were  administered 
every  day.  Not  less  than  a  thousand  persons  were  pres- 
ent on  the  Sabbath,  many  of  whom  came  to  spend  that 
sacred  time  merely  as  a  holiday. 

Daniel  Lord,  of  Kittery,  Maine,  was  ordained  at  this 
meeting  on  the  11th  of  June,  by  Randall,  Tingley,  Weeks, 
Whitney  and  Buzzell.  He  was  a  native  of  Berwick,  and 
a  brother  of  Revs.  Tosier  and  Gershom  Lord  ;  of  good 
abilities  and  marked  piety.  He  had  been  preaching  for 
ten  years  ;  his  wife  usually  read  the  hymns  and  the  Scrip- 
tures, he  being  nearly  blind,  and  totally  so  during  his  last 
years,  which  were  spent  with  a  son  in  New  York. 

Randall  and  others  had  preached  occasionally  in  that 
part  of  Gilmanton  called  the  Iron-Works,  since  the  year 
1785,  and  several  had  been  converted.  A  Monthly  Meet- 
ing was  established,  but  no  record  was  kept,  or  has  been 
preserved,  prior  to  1793,  Avhen  there  seems  to  have  been  a 
church  organization,  and  the  next  year  it  was  acknowledg- 
ed as  a  member  of  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting. 
13 


146  NEW  HAMPSHIKE.  [1795. 

This  year  the  church  in  New  Durham  received  an  ac- 
cession of  thirty-one  members,  and  the  next  year  twenty- 
six  were  added. 

At  the  October  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in 
1794,  neither  David  Knowlton,  an  unordained  preacher^ 
nor  any  other  member  from  Pittsfield,  was  present.  Such 
a  delinquency  was  not  allowed  to  pass  unnoticed  ;  and 
Randall,  by  instruction,  admonished  them  as  follows  : 
"  We  are  this  day  convened  at  our  Quarterly  Meeting, 
and  have  a  good  day,  through  grace  ;  but  feel  somewhat 
grieved  at  finding — David's  seat  empty.  We  wonder  at 
you,  brethren,  that  none  of  all  your  meeting  are  present, 
when  the  weather  is  so  pleasant,  and  the  travelling  so 
good." 

The  request  for  the  ordination  of  Knowlton  in  1795  was 
referred  from  the  Quarterly  Meeting  to  the  June  session 
of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  a  council  of  five  ministers, 
each  to  be  accompanied  by  a  layman,  was  chosen  and 
sent  to  Pittsfield,  It  convened  with  the  church  August 
12th,  and  the  following  extract  from  the  church  record  is 
here  inserted  at  length,  as  a  specimen  examination  by  the 
fathers : 

"1.  Chose  John  Buzzell  Chairman. 

"2.  Chose  Benjamin  Randall  Clerk. 

"3.  Queried  with  the  candidate  as  follows  : 

"  '  Dost  thou  believe  that  the  Lord  has  called  thee  to 
preach  the  gospel  ?' 

"  Answer.  '  Yes.' 

"  '  Dost  thou  believe  it  will  be  for  the  glory  of  God  that 
hands  should  be  laid  upon  thee,  if  the  council  should  find 
satisfaction  ?' 

"  Answer.  '  I  dare  not  draw  back.* 

"  '  Then  give  us  a  reason  of  thy  hope  ;  relate  the  deal- 
ings of  God  in  bringing  thy  soul  from  bondage  into  liberty, 
and  thy  call  to  public  improvement.' 

"  He  did  so  ;  all  of  which  was  satisfactory  to  the  coun- 
cil.    Questions  were  proposed  as  to  the  fall  of  man — hlsr 


1795.]  CHUKCH   IN  CANTEKBmiY.  147 

restoration  by  Jesus  Christ — the  obligations  of  the  preach- 
er— the  difference  between  t]\p  pla,n  of  redemption  and  the 
work  of  salvation  ;  and  all  were  answered  to  great  satis- 
faction. 

"  The  church  was  then  asked  if  brother  Knowlton  an- 
swered in  a  good  measure  to  the  character  given  in  1  Tim. 
3 :  1-6  ;  and  the  answer  was  in  the  affirmative.  It  was 
asked  if  he  had  a  good  character  from  them  who  are  with- 
out. The  answer  from  without  was  in  the  affirmative. 
Was  the  church  unanimous  in  sending  to  the  Yearly 
Meeting  for  a  council  ?  After  some  explanation,  all  were 
agreed  for  his  ordination.  The  council  desired  to  withdraw 
for  twenty  minutes,  when  they  agreed  upon  his  ordination, 
and  how  to  proceed," 

Daniel  Lord  made  the  opening  prayer,  Buzzell  preached 
from  2  Tim.  4:5:  "  But  watch  thou  in  all  things,  endure 
afflictions,  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist,  make  full  proof 
of  thy  ministry."  Randall  made  the  consecrating  prayer, 
and  gave  the  charge,  and  Boody  gave  the  hand  of  fellow- 
ship. 

Knowlton  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  in  Pittsfield,  and 
early  a  member  of  the  New  Durham  branch  in  that 
town.  His  health  was  often  feeble,  and  when  unable  to 
attend  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  he  usually  reported  himself 
by  letter. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting  agreed  to  hold  all  of  its  ses- 
sions at  New  Durham,  and,  as  the  burden  of  sustaining 
them  was  found  to  lay  heavily  upon  Randall,  it  was 
"  Voted  that  each  Monthly  Meeting  communicate  to  Eld. 
Benjamin  Randall,  for  the  support  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing (it  being  at  his  house)  as  they  shall  believe  in  their 
hearts  to  be  needful,  from  time  to  time."  He  afterwards 
sought  the  repeal  of  this  vote,  but  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
believed  it  was  right,  and  declined  to  change  it. 

In  August  of  the  preceding  year,  Randall  went  to  Can- 
terbury and  baptized  seven,  who,  with  others  previously 
baptized,   were   embodied   as   a   church.     Dea.  Otis,   of 


148  NEW   HAJIPSHIRE.  [1796. 

Strafford,  labored  there  the  next  spring,  and  a  reformation 
ensued,  though  great  was  the  opposition.  John  Buzzell 
visited  the  place  soon  after,  and  says,  "  The  converts 
seated  themselves  close  around  me,  and  received  the  word 
with  gladness,  while  opposers  mocked,  made  faces  at  me, 
twisted  their  bodies  and  limbs  into  all  kinds  of  postures, 
and  some  even  sat  on  the  floor  grinning  at  me,  and  every 
little  while  giving  me  the  lie,  and  charging  me  with  false 
doctrines."  But  he  was  not  dismayed,  the  Lord  stood  by 
him,  and  several  were  converted  and  baptized.  Winthrop 
Young,  an  influential  man,  had  now  begun  to  preach,  and 
his  heart,  house  and  purse  were  open.  When  Buzzell 
left,  he  gave  him  a  horse,  the  first  he  had  ever  OAvned, 
though  he  had  been  an  itinerant  preacher  for  more  than 
four  years.  In  October  the  church  numbered  twenty-one 
members,  and  was  visited  by  a  committee,  who  gave  them 
the  hand  of  fellowship  as  a  member  of  the  New  Durham 
Quarterly  Meeting. 

Few  churches  have  struggled  into  being  through  greater 
conflicts  than  the  one  in  Canterbury.  The  old  church,  in 
1779,  was  the  first  to  declare  for  freewill  and  free  salva- 
tion. Then  came  the  Shaker  delusion,  that  took  both 
pastor  and  people,  leaving  a  very  small  remnant.  In 
later  years,  the  "  Osgoodites  "  made  great  disturbance, 
and  popular  sentiment  was  decidedly  against  the  church 
and  its  members.  It  was  made  disreputable  to'  attend 
their  meetings,  otherwise  than  from  curiosity  ;  and,  as  a 
sect,  they  were  regarded  as  religious  outlaws,  whose 
meetings  might  be  disturbed  with  impunity.  This  fact 
accounts  for  the  church  action  in  July,  when  it  was  "  vot- 
ed that  Seth  Turrell  be  appointed  to  keep  order  in  the 
meeting." 

On  the  28th  of  June,  1796,  a  council  from  the  Yearly 
Meeting  met  with  the  church,  and  Winthrop  Young  vvas 
ordained  by  Whitney,  Buzzell,  Randall  and  Boody ;  assist- 
ed by  John  Shepherd  and  Aaron  Buzzell  as  Ruling  Elders. 
Young  was  born  in  that  part  of  Barrington  now  called 


1796.]  ORDINATION   OP   YOUNG.  149 

Strafford,  in  1753,  and  is  known  to  have  been  a  member 
of  the  cburch  there  in  1782,  He  taught  school  in  early 
life,  removed  to  Canterbury  in  1787,  and  was  pastor  of 
the  church  for  thirty-five  years.  He  possessed  wealth, 
was  large  in  stature,  of  strong  mind,  and  great  piety. 
Before  him,  every  one  felt  himself  to  be  in  the  presence  of 
a  7nan. 

Says  one  ^  long  associated  with  him,  "  As  a  preacher, 
brother  Young  did  not  excel  in  elucidating  his  text,  or  in 
a  logical  presentation  of  his  subject,  but  when  he  came  to 
the  practical,  or  experimental,  part  of  his  discourse,  he 
moved  like  a  giant,  applying  the  truth,  and  carrying  eve- 
rything before  him.  Oftentimes  there  would  be  such  cry- 
ing out  in  all  parts  of  the  audience,  that,  had  it  not  been 
for  his  stentorian  voice,  not  a  word  could  have  been  heard. 
Powerful  as  he  was  in  preaching,  he  was  still  more  so  in 
prayer.  Randall  has  been  heard  to  say,  '  "We  have  no 
man  among  us  that  can  pray  like  brother  Young.' " 

During  the  summer  months  peace  and  prosperity  reign- 
ed in  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  the  record  of  the  August 
session  closes  with  these  words,  written  by  Randall's  own 
hand  :  "  A  sermon  by  Eld.  John  Buzzell  was  followed  by 
a  great  number  of  testimonies,  borne  with  a  very  great 
degree  of  life  and  fervor  ;  and  by  many  prayers  and  sup- 
plications, with  strong  cries  and  ardent  groanings  for  the 
prosperity  of  Zion,  the  return  of  backsliders,  and  the 
awakening  of  poor  sinners.  And  never  did  the  power  of 
the  Lord  appear  more  visible  at  the  administration  of  the 
ordinances  than  now.  0  how  marvellous,  wonderful,  and 
glorious  !  All  glory,  glory,  glory  to  our  all-glorious 
Father !  O  let  every  thing  that  hath  breath,  praise  the 
Lord." 

At  the  opening  of  the  October  session,  all  "joined  repeat- 
edly in  prayer,  with  strong  cries  for  more  mortification, 
more  sanctification  and  advancement  in  the  Divine  life." 
These  prayers  were  interspersed  with  "  needful  exhortations 

^  Rev.  Thomas  Perkins. 

13* 


150  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1798. 

from  more  than  one,  and  some  blessed  meltings  of  soul." 
Says  Randall,  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  was  made  good  to 
our  souls,  as  we  tasted  the  sweet  fulfilment  of  that  promise, 
'  Before  they  call  I  will  answer,  and  while  they  are  yet  speak- 
ing I  will  hear.'  "  The  reports  brought  intelligence  of  only  a 
single  revival,  and  some  of  them  spoke  of  coldness  and  trials. 
In  view  of  this  state  of  things,  November  1st  was  appointed 
as  a  day  of  humiliation,  fasting  and  prayer.  It  proved  a 
very  great  blessing  to  the  churches,  and  many  allusions 
were  made  to  it  in  their  next  reports.  Pittsfield  said,  it 
was  "  a  refreshing  day."  Canterbury  called  it  a  "  won- 
derful fast ;"  and  Gilmanton  said,  "  it  was  a  marvellous 
day  of  the  power  of  the  Lord." 

In  1797,  revivals  were  enjoyed  in  New  Castle,  New 
Durham,  Pittsfield,  Canterbury  and  Middleton. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  in  1798  was  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable scenes  in  modern  times.  It  commenced  on  the 
morning  of  June  9th  ;  ministers  were  present  from  all 
parts  of  the  connection,  and  hundreds  of  others  were  in 
attendance.  Since  the  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  in  No- 
vember, there  had  been  an  increasing  spirit  of  union  among 
Christians,  and  of  confiding  trust  in  God,  as  the  records 
of  the  two  previous  Quarterly  Meetings  clearly  show  ; 
and  the  people  doubtless  came  in  this  spirit  to  the  Yearly 
Meeting.  The  first  day's  session  was  held  in  Randall's 
barn,  and  as  soon  as  the  people  were  seated,  an  uncom- 
mon solemnity  pervaded  their  minds.  After  singing  and 
prayer,  as  usual,  a  most  solemn  silence  ensued.  No  one 
felt  disposed  to  enter  upon  business,  for  the  Spirit  seemed 
not  to  lead  in  that  direction.     God  was  evidently  there. 

Says  John  Buzzell,^  "  The  power  of  God  seemed  to 
fall  upon  the  people,  in  some  measure,  as  it  did  upon  the 
disciples  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  whole  assembly 
appeared  to  be  shocked,  and  it  was  difficult  to  tell  who 
first  felt  the  impression.  The  first  person  that  I  heard 
speak  was  a  young  man,  who  arose,  and,  in  a  most  feel- 
3  Life  of  Randall,  p.  172. 


1798.]  THE  YEARLY  MEETING.  151 

ing  manner,  confessed  his  disobedience  to  God,  to  his 
parents,  and  to  those  who  had  been  his  instructors  ;  and 
then  asked  forgiveness  of  all  present  who  knew  him.  He 
then  stated  that  God  had  forgiven  his  sins,  changed  his 
heart,  and  put  a  new  song  into  his  mouth,  even  praise  to 
God.  In  a  most  powerful  manner,  he  then  exhorted  all, 
both  old  and  young,  male  and  female,  to  '  come,  taste  and 
see  that  the  Lord  is  good.' " 

This  young  man  was  Hezekiah  D.  Buzzell,  of  Gilman- 
ton,  afterwards  an  efficient  minister  of  the  gospel ;  and 
such  was  the  Divine  energy  with  which  he  now  spoke, 
that  many  youth,  in  different  parts  of  the  assembly,  began 
to  weep.  Some  of  them  soon  fell  upon  their  knees,  cry- 
ing for  mercy  ;  and,  after  a  few  minutes,  it  was  difficult 
to  distinguish  one  voice  from  another,  so  many  were  intent 
on  salvation,  each  for  himself.  Till  this  time,  the  minis- 
ters were  together  on  the  stage,  but  some  of  them  now 
passed  among  the  people,  conversed  with,  and  prayed  for, 
those  in  distress.  Some  of  the  penitents  would  cry  aloud 
for  mercy  ;  some  would  fall  upon  the  floor,  and  lay  mo- 
tionless for  a  considerable  time,  and  then,  recovering  their 
strength,  would  shout  alo^^d  the  praises  of  God.  But 
there  was  a  diversity  of  operations  by  the  same  Spirit. 
"While  some  lay  motionless  and  silent,  others,  in  their 
prostration,  continued  begging  for  mercy  till  deliverance 
came.  While  some  were  on  their  knees,  loudly  pleading 
with  God,  others  retained  their  seats,  uttering  not  a  word, 
but  offering  mental  prayer  ;  and  their  silent  struggles  and 
genuine  faith  were  equally  successful  with  the  vociferous 
efforts  of  those  who  made  the  most  ado.  In  much  the 
same  manner  did  the  exercises  continue  through  the  entire 
day,  with  the  following  exception  : 

"  Randall  was  one  of  those  who  were  tried  with  the 
work,"  ^  and  earnestly  desired  the  people  to  refrain  from 
such  excited  and  disorderly  manifestations.  His  great 
influence  at  once  restored  comparative  quiet,  but  it  seemed 

*  Buzzell's  Life  of  Randall,  p.  174. 


152  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  [1798. 

the  stillness  of  death,  and  he  began  to  fear  that  he  had 
acted  the  part  of  Uzzah,  in  attempting  to  steady  the  ark 
of  the  Lord.  So  many  persons  of  strong  feelings  and  ner- 
vous temperament  were  enlisted,  who  would  do  nothing 
under  restraint,  that  he  thought  it  better  for  the  work  to 
proceed,  even  with  improprieties,  since  the  Lord  was  cer- 
tainly in  it,  than  to  harshly  check  their  zeal,  and  perhaps 
grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  from  their  midst.  He  again  stood 
before  them,  confessing  that  he  would  not,  for  his  life, 
limit  the  power  of  Grod,  or  prescribe  how  he  should  work, 
and  said,  "  Brethren,  look  not  to  me,  but  to  God,  and  obey 
him  in  all  things." 

Just  at  night,  a  few  gathered  by  themselves  and  organ- 
ized the  Yearly  Meeting,  even  while  the  place  was  vocal 
with  the  sobs  of  the  penitent  and  the  shouts  of  the  redeem- 
ed. Evening  meetings  were  held  in  diiFerent  parts  of  the 
town,  but  there  was  no  time  for  preaching,  as  heavy-laden 
sinners  claimed  personal  attention,  and  thrice  happy  con- 
verts longed  to  exalt  the  Lord  their  God. 

The  second  day,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  witnessed,  if 
possible,  a  still  greater  interest.  Two  thousand  people 
convened  at  the  meeting  house,  and  the  order  of  exercises 
was  much  the  same  as  the  day  preceding.  Instead  of 
sermons,  exhortations  of  great  power  were  given  in  and 
around  the  house,  prayers  were  freely  offered  for  the  con- 
victed, inquirers  were  directed  to  Christ,  old  saints  re- 
joiced, and  young  converts  sung  for  joy.  There  was, 
confessedly,  but  little  order  in  the  services,  as  the  occa- 
sion partook  so  largely  of  the  Pentecost  spirit,  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  Christ's  triumphal  entry  into  Jerusalem. 
Honest  professors,  who  stood  aloof  from  the  exercises, 
were  amazed  ;  and  many  opposers  were  confounded,  while 
others  derided  those  worshippers  as  crazy  fanatics. 

All  kinds  of  reports  were  in  circulation,  good,  bad,  and 
indifferent ;  and  every  one  desired  to  see  and  hear  for 
himself.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  the   number   present   on  the   third   day  should   be 


1798.]  THE   YEARLY   MEETING.  153 

nearly  three  thousand.  They  repaired  to  an  open  field, 
where  Isaac  Townsend  preached  a  sermon,  "  well  calcu- 
lated to  inform  the  understanding  in  respect  to  the  way  of 
salvation."  This  was  followed  by  exhortations,  prayers, 
and  the  same  manifestations  as  -on  the  previous  days. 
To  many,  the  Spirit  came,  not  only  unsought,  but  against 
great  apparent  efforts  of  resistance.  Leaders  in  wicked- 
ness were  often  among  the  first  to  fall,  and,  by  the  third 
day,  no  sinner  felt  himself  secure,  do  what  he  might, 
against  the  mysterious  influence. 

Says  Buzzell,  "  It  was  really  astonishing  to  behold  the 
events  which  took  place  on  that  day.  Some  of  those  who 
appeared  to  be  the  most  bitter  opposers,  and  the  best 
shielded  against  the  work,  were  taken.  In  one  instance, 
I  observed  three  young  men,  who  appeared  to  have  been 
very  much  guarded  through  all  the  meeting.  As  they 
were  standing  on  the  outside  of  the  assembly,  one  of  the 
ministers  felt  impressed  to  speak  to  them.  They  saw 
him  approach,  and  immediately  ran  for  the  woods.  "When 
about  twenty  rods  from  the  congregation,  they  were  over- 
taken by  the  mysterious  power,  and  all  fell  to  the  earth, 
crying  aloud  for  mercy,  and  did  not  arise  till  they  were 
able  to  say  that  their  sins  were  forgiven.  They,  in  turn, 
became  efficient  preachers,  and  thus  the  work  went  on." 

The  meeting  on  Monday  evening  was  one  of  "  marvel- 
lous power,  and  held  until  midnight."  Penitent  inquirers 
still  lingered,  and  prayer  was  made,  or  instruction  given, 
till  morning  light  dawned  upon  them  ;  in  which  time  "  a 
number  were  brought  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord." 

On  the  fourth  day,  by  previous  appointment,  the  meet- 
ing was  at  the  water-side,  where  Randall  baptized  six 
persons,  residents  of  as  many  different  towns.  The  work 
of  conviction  and  conversion  there  went  on  through  the 
day.  The  voice  of  weeping  would  sometimes  alternate 
with  that  of  rejoicing,  and  then  both  would  mingle  in 
what  Buzzell  was  pleased  to  call,  "  the  most  harmonious 
tune." 


154  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [1798. 

In  those  four  days,  not  less  then  one  hundred  professed 
to  find  peace,  and  most  of  them  were  strangers  in  New 
Durham.  Returning  to  their  several  homes  in  distant 
towns,  they  declared  what  the  Lord  had  done  for  them, 
and  thus  did  the  work  extensively  spread.  Scarcely  a 
town  in  all  that  region  was  left  without  a  blessing,  direct- 
ly or  indirectly,  from  that  meeting.  Doors  were  opened 
in  all  directions  for  preaching  the  gospel,  ministers  were 
endowed  with  power  from  on  high,  and  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing in  1798  has  ever  since  been  regarded  as  the  begin- 
ning of  better  days  with  the  struggling  cause  in  New 
Hampshire. 

One  of  the  six  that  were  baptized  as  above  stated,  was 
Jeremiah  Ballard,  of  Unity.  He  had  preached  considera- 
bly with  the  Methodists,  but,  being  dissatisfied  with  his 
baptism,  he  attended  the  May  session  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  and  preached  "  a  very  quickening  discourse." 
He  related  the  circumstances  attending  his  conversion, 
spoke  of  his  call  to  preach,  and  the  success  of  his  labors  ; 
"  all  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  member  present,"  and 
asked  for  such  advice  and  assistance  as  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  in  its  wisdom,  should  see  fit  to  give.  His  ad- 
dress was  pleasing,  and  his  style  of  speaking  was  both 
flowery  and  impressive.  So  fuUy  would  he  enlist  the 
sympathies  of  an  audience  in  prayer,  that  he  seemed  to 
lead  his  hearers  into  the  very  presence  of  God.  But  pru- 
dence forbade  any  ofiicial  endorsement  of  the  man  at  first 
sight,  and  he  was  requested  to  attend  the  Yearly  Meeting 
in  June,  and  bring  such  recommendations  as  he  could  con- 
veniently furnish. 

We  meet  him  again  at  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  on  the 
third  day,  a  few  delegates  retired  for  business  from  those 
exciting  scenes,  and  before  them  Ballard  rehearsed  his 
Christian  experience  and  call  to  the  ministry,  presented 
satisfactory  certificates,  signed  by  more  than  sixty  per- 
sons, and  requested  assistance  in  embodying  churches, 
and  authority  to  administer  the  ordinances.     A  council 


1798.]  ORDINATION   OF   BALLAED.  155 

with  discretionary  power,  consistiBg  of  Randall,  Buzzell, 
and  Daniel  Lord,  with  two  Ruling  Elders  and  two  Dea- 
cons, was  sent  to  Unity.  They  met  July  2d,  and  agreed 
to  his  ordination;  but  here  an  unexpected  difficulty  arose. 

The  original  proprietors  of  Unity  had  reserved  a  lot 
of  land  for  the  first  minister  ordained  in  town,  and  objec- 
tions were  now  made  to  the  ordination  of  Ballard,  and 
the  authorities  refused  the  use  of  the  meeting  liouse, 
imless  he  would  quitclaim  all  right  to  the  land  j,  in  which 
case  they  would  make  him  a  small  present.  In  reply  to 
this  proposition,  the  council  said,  we  do  not  ordain  minis- 
ters for  the  sake  of  land,  nor  would  we  have  the  candi- 
date accept  a  present  under  these  circumstances,  or  sur- 
render his  rights.  And  yet,  to  avoid  contention,  and 
"  abstain  from  all  appearance  of  evil,"  it  was  agreed  to 
'^'  escape  to  the  mountain,"  just  beyond  the  limits  of  the 
town,  and  ordain  there,  as  Christ  had  selected  a  similar 
place  for  the  choice  of  his  disciples.  The  sermon  was 
delivered  in  the  house  by  Randall,  after  which  the  coun- 
cil, and  most  of  the  congregation,  repaired  to  a  distant 
eminence,  and  finished  the  ordination  services.  Favora- 
ble as  were  the  opening  auspices  of  Ballard's  public  ca- 
reer, the  sad  story  of  its  close  is  near  at  hand.  In  con- 
nection with  his  ordination,  a  church  was  there  organized 
that  promised  much  under  the  labors  of  a  preacher  then 
thought  to  be  deservedly  popular. 

Let  lis  now  go  up  to  the  August  session  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  and  hear  the  results  since  that  marvellous  Year- 
ly Meeting  in  June.  It  convenes  at  New  Durham,  and 
every  church  in  the  State,  save  Straffiard,  reports  great 
prosperity.  Canterbury  says,  "  No  discord,  but  a  won- 
derful outpouring  of  the  spirit  of  God.  Seventeen  added 
within  the  last  four  weeks."  Gilmanton  says,  "  All  dif- 
ficulties removed,  a  blessed  awakening,  and  a  number 
brought  ovit  of  darkness  into  God's  marvellous  light." 
Kittery,  Maine,  says,  "  The  Avork  of  God  is  very  won- 
derful."    Lebanon,   Maine,  "  No  difficulties,   religion  is 


156  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1798. 

lively."  Micldleton,  "  Had  a  blessed  revival,  and  the 
work  still  goes  on."  New  Durham,  "  Brotherly  love  pre- 
vails, the  work  of  the  Lord  is  the  most  glorious  we  have 
ever  seen,  about  ninety  souls  brought  out  of  darkness 
since  the  Monthly  Meeting  in  June."  Pittsfield,  "Back- 
sliders are  returning,  and  a  number  of  souls  have  been 
brought  to  rejoice  in  God."  Unity,  "  The  work  of  the 
Lord  doth  increase,  and  additions  are  made  from  time  to 
time."        ^ 

On  the  second  day  a  sermon  was  preached  early  in  the 
morning,  after  which  it  was  intended  to  proceed  to  busi- 
ness, but  such  was  the  spirit  of  devotion,  that  worship 
continued  without  intermission,  till  the  shades  of  night 
suggested  that  it  was  time  to  close.  There  were  present, 
not  only  many  chosen  brethren  from  the  churches,  but 
two  hundred  converts,  all  of  whom  had  become  Christians 
since  the  Yearly  Meeting.  Never,  perhaps,  was  preach- 
ing more  spiritual,  exhortations  more  powerful,  prayers 
more  prevailing,  faith  more  undeniable,  or  praise  more 
joyfully  sung.  Randall  says,  "  It  appeared  the  most  like 
heaven  upon  earth,  and  glory  in  the  bud,  of  anything  we 
have  ever  experienced."  And  when  the  emblems  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood  were  received,  so  strong  was  the 
faith  of  the  communicants,  that  the  scene  was  glorious 
beyond  description.  But  how  diversified  are  the  scenes 
of  life  !  To-day  our  cup  of  joy  is  full.  The  morrow 
comes,  and  we  are  drinking  the  very  dregs  of  sorrow. 

Aakon  Buzzell,  of  Gilmanton,  a  brother  of  John 
Buzzell,  was  before  the  meeting  as  a  candidate  for  ordi- 
nation. In  relating  his  experience  and  call  to  the  minis- 
try, he  had  just  said  that  his  love  for  the  cause  had  led 
him  to  lay  all  upon  the  altar — not  only  himself  and  his 
small  possessions,  but  his  family,  even,  had  he  given  to 
the  Lord.  Conference  was  satisfied,  and  was  arranging 
the  ordination  services,  when  a  messenger  entered,  and 
abruptly  exclaimed,  Death  !  The  wife  of  Aaron  Buzzell 
is    dead !     The    announcement   was  overwhelminsr  in  its 


1798.]  ORDINATION   OF   AARON   BUZZELL.  157 

effect  upon  the  meeting  ;  but  no  one  seemed  to  bear  up 
vmder  it  with  moi'e  fortitude  than  the  bereaved  husband. 
He  was  leaning  upon  the  arm  of  the  Lord  when  the  intel- 
ligence came,  and  he  found  it  a  sure  support.  He  instant- 
ly repaired  to  the  place  of  her  departure  for  the  better 
land,  and  learned  that  she  had  left  home  that  morning, 
expecting  to  witness  his  ordination.  While  riding  joy- 
fully along  in  company  with  her  brother,  Hezekiah  D. 
Buzzell,  she  was  observed  unexpectedly  to  alight  from 
her  horse,  and,  in  a  moment,  to  lie  prostrate  upon  the 
ground.  Before  the  least  relief  could  be  afforded,  and 
without  a  farewell  expression,  her  happy  spirit  had  left 
for  a  mansion  in  glory.  Instead  of  an  ordination,  were 
preparations  for  the  funeral ;  and  the  grace  of  God  was 
found  to  be  sufficient  for  the  afflicted  companion,  as  he  lay 
the  fond  wife  of  his  youth,  and  the  mother  of  his  children, 
in  the  low,  cold  lap  of  earth. 

At  the  next  Quarterly  Meeting,  October  18th,  he  re- 
ceived ordination,  and  in  1801  removed  to  Strafford, 
Vermont,  where,  for  more  than  fifty  years,  he  was  one  of 
the  fathers  of  our  interests.  Aaron  Buzzell  was  born  in 
Barrington,  1764,  but  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life  in 
Middleton,  where  he  experienced  religion  in  1790.  He 
was  baptized  by  Randall  in  the  evening,  at  a  Quarterly 
Meeting  in  Ncav  Durham,  while  the  full  orbed  moon,  in 
imcloudcd  majesty,  smiled  upon  the  scene.  The  next 
year  he  began  to  speak  in  public  as  an  exhorter,  and 
travelled  seven  years  with  his  brother  John,  before  he  ap- 
pointed meetings  for  himself.  He  was  a  sympathetic 
speaker,  and  "  so  given  to  weeping,"  says  Rev.  Peter 
Clark,  "  that,  at  the  close  of  his  discourse,  I  have  seen  the 
floor,  in  a  semicircle  at  his  feet,  visibly  sprinkled  with  his 
tears." 

The  low  state  of  religious  interest  at  North  Strafford 
was  under  consideration  at  the  August  Quarterly  Meeting, 
when  some  spoke  discouragingly  of  farther  efforts  to  save 
14 


158  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1799, 

the  church,  and  a  large  majority  disapproved  of  Boody's 
accepting  a  seat  in  the  State  Legislature,  False  reports 
were  carried  to  them,  of  what  was  said  and  done,  and 
they  were  sorely  grieved.  The  next  Quarterly  Meeting 
sent  a  letter  of  explanation  to  the  church,  and  appoint- 
ed different  committees  to  attend  the  three  intervening 
Monthly  Meetings,  and  the  result  was  all  that  could  have 
been  expected.  The  pastor  was  encouraged,  the  church 
revived,  and  sinners  converted. 

At  a  meeting  in  Pittsfield,  September  12th,  Eaudall  be- 
ing present,  five  related  their  Christian  experience,  and 
were  baptized  amid  great  manifestations  of  the  Divine 
presence.  Three  of  them,  David  Knowlton,  Jr.,  Ebenezer 
Knowlton,  and  Samuel  B.  Dyer,  soon  entered  the  ministry, 
and  were  pillars  in  the  church. 

The  year  1799  commenced  with  a  good  religious  inter- 
est in  many  places.  The  Quarterly  Meeting  held  its  Jan- 
uary session  at  Canterbury  for  the  first  time,  when  the 
second  church  in  Gilmanton,  near  Eld.  Shepherd's,  was 
received. 

So  marvellous  were  the  displays  of  Divine  power  at  the 
last  Yearly  Meeting,  that  every  one  was  anxious  to  attend 
the  present  session  ;  and  this^  anxiety  increased  as  the  time 
drew  nigh.  The  meeting  convened  at  New  Durham, 
June  8th,  and  the  attendance  was  very  large.  No  sooner 
had  the  services  commenced,  than  the  presence  of  God 
was  wonderfully  manifest.  Prayers  of  faith,  songs  of 
praise,  and  exhortations  in  the  spirit,  were  the  order  of 
the  day.  Towards  night  a  few  were  called  together,  who 
organized  the  meeting  and  adjourned.  A  short  sermon 
was  preached  on  the  Sabbath  by  Jeremiah  Ballard,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  time  was  spent  as  the  day  before  had 
been ;  and  several  were  hopefully  converted.  On  Mon- 
day, heard  the  letters  and  verbal  reports,  which  were  now 
very  refreshing.  The  records  of  all  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ings were  then  read,  as  was  the  custom,  and  following  is  a 
synopsis : 


1799.]  CHURCH   IN   SANBORNTON.  159 

Neio  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting.  General  engagedness, 
large  additions,  good  order,  and  reformations  in  most  of 
the  churches. 

Edgecomh.  The  revival  increases  in  Lincolnville,  noth- 
ing new  in  other  parts. 

Farmington.  The  work  of  God  is  very  glorious,  not 
less  than  fifty  have  been  brought  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord 
since  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  February. 

Gorham.  Glorious  increase  of  the  work,  with  consider- 
able additions. 

Parsonsfield.  Considerable  engagedness,  some  addi- 
tions. 

Unity.     General  interest,  but  nothing  special. 

The  last  named  Quarterly  Meeting  began  its  informal 
sessions  the  year  before,  and  it  was  now  "  Voted  that  all 
the  branches  and  scattered  members  west  of  the  Merri- 
mack river  be  established  into  a  body,  called  the  Unity 
Quarterly  Meeting. 

Soon  as  the  reports  and  records  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ings had  been  read,  all  farther  business  was  postponed  to 
the  next  morning  ;  and  the  large  congregation  repaired  to 
a  beautiful  green,  and  sat  down  on  the  grass  to  hear  the 
word  of  truth  by  Daniel  Batchelder,  of  Corinth,  Vermont. 
A  table  was  spread  for  communion,  but  such  was  the  out- 
pouring of  God's  spirit  upon  the  people,  the  great  labor  of 
saints,  and  the  awakening  of  sinners,  that  there  was  no 
opportunity  for  receiving  the  elements  ;  the  spirit  of  com- 
munion, however,  was  freely  enjoyed.  Thirteen  professed 
to  have  found  the  Saviour  that  afternoon., 

By  request  of  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting, 
Ballard  visited  the  few  brethren  in  Warner,  on  his  return 
from  the  May  session,  and  in  August  they  reported  "  a 
most  glorious  work  of  God,"  under  the  labors  of  Dea« 
Kent  of  Canterbury,  whose  ordination  was  requested. 

In  June,  a  few  Christians  in  Sanbornton  covenanted  to- 
gether, and  established  a  Monthly  Meeting,  and,  from  that 
time  onward,  social  meetings  were  regularly  sustained  on 


160  NEW  HAMPSHIKE.  [1799. 

the  Sabbatli.     In  1806,  these  brethren,  sixteen  in  number, 
were  a  branch  of  the  Gilford  church. 

Ballard  now  preached  in  Deerfield  and  Nottingham, 
where  sinners  were  converted,  and  permanent  religioup 
interests  were  established.  A  letter  to  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  from  Stratham  brought  the  cheering  intelligence 
of  a  precious  revival  in  that  place.  A  revival  was  also 
enjoyed  and  a  church  organized  in  Burton  [noAV  Albany j . 
John  Jewell  held  meetings  there  in  1796,  and  several  Avere 
converted.  By  appointment  from  the  Quarterly  Meeting, 
Randall  and  others  visited  them  the  next  year,  and  found 
them  well  engaged  in  their  Master's  service  ;  but,  as  the 
committee  "  could  not  see  with  their  speaker,"  they  were 
not  recognized  as  a  church. 

Richard  Martin,  of  Gilford  [then  a  part  of  Gilman- 
ton],  attended  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  August,  at  New 
Durham,  and  Randall  says,  "  preached  a  most  refreshing, 
strengthening  and  comforting  discourse."  The  meeting 
commenced  at  one  o'clock,  and  the  sermon  was  followed 
by  many  testimonies  and  the  Lord's  supper,  so  that  it  did 
not  close  till  "  near  candle-light."  This  was  Martin's  first 
attendance  at  a  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  never  did  a  man 
forsaken  by  brethren  seem  more  at  home.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  Lee,  born  in  1755,  and  when  a  boy  was  appren- 
ticed to  a  rope-maker  in  Portsmouth.  He  experienced 
religion  in  Lee,  under  the  first  efforts  of  Elias  Smith,  whose 
fame  was  afterwards  somewhat  celebrated.  He  alone  bore 
the  principal  expense  of  Smith's  ordination  soon  after,  and 
then  commenced  preaching  himself,  as  a  Baptist.  He  was 
ordained  in  1795,  and  the  next  year  removed  to  Gilford. 
In  October,  1797,  a  council  of  Calvinistic  Baptists  met 
there  to  organize  a  church.  In  the  examination  it  was 
found  that  neither  he,  nor  the  proposed  members  of  the 
church,  were  Calvinists,  therefore  the  council  dissolved. 
He  soon  organized  a  church  himself,  and  was  its  constant 
pastor  for  twenty-five  years.  It  joined  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  the  next  year,  and  soon  became  one  of  the  strong- 


1799.]  OTIS,    BOODY,    POTTLE   AND   JACKSON.  161 

est  churches  in  the  denomination,  Martin  was  a  pious 
and  useful  man  ;  he  travelled  but  little,  except  to  attend 
Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings,  where  he  usually  preached. 

The  remarkable  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  since  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  1798,  had  greatly  multiplied  the  calls 
for  preaching,  and  had  resulted  in  the  establishment  of 
many  new  interests  that  needed  to  be  cared  for.  But  th* 
Lord  never  enlarges  his  vineyard  without  calling  into  it 
an  increase  of  laborers.  This  year  witnessed  the  acces- 
sion of  six  to  the  ministry  in  the  New  Durham  Quarterly 
Meeting,  besides  Richard  Martin,  The  ordination  c^* 
John  Blaisdell  and  Gershom  Lord,  of  Lebanon,  Me.,  has 
already  been  noticed  ;  and  at  the  October  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, Dea.  MiCAjAH  Otis  of  Strafford,  Joseph  Boody  of 
New  Durham,  Simon  Pottle  of  Middleton,  and  Dr. 
James  Jackson  of  Eaton,  were  all  ordained  at  the  same 
time.  The  services  were  at  a  school  house  in  New  DuiP- 
ham  October  18th,  and  Randall  preached  on  the  occasioii 
from  1  Cor,  9:16:  "  For  though  I  preach  the  gospel,  I 
have  nothing  to  glory  of ;  for  necessity  is  laid  upon  me ;  yea, 
woe  is  unto  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel !"  It  was  an  im- 
pressive scene — four  men  on  their  knees  before  the  Lord, 
under  the  consecrating  hands  of  the  council,  while  Rev. 
Daniel  Lord  was  calling  upon  God  to  endow  them  *'  witli 
power  from  on  high," 

Otis  was  a  native  of  Dover,  and  now  fifty-two  years  oi' 
age.  He  was  a  member  of  that  branch  in  Strafford,  which 
became  an  independent  church  in  1779,  and  through  all 
the  trying  conflicts  of  that  people  he  stood  unmoved. 
Possessed  of  an  ample  share  of  this  world's  goods,  he  was 
able  to  travel  at  his  own  expense  ;  and  having  a  revival 
gift,  and  living  a  holy  life,  his  labors  were  blessed  to  the 
salvation  of  many, 

Boody,  a  nephew  of  Joseph  Boody  of  Strafford,  was  a 
native  of  New  Durham,  and  had  been  an  active  Christian 
for  eight  years.  He  had  been  in  northern  Vermont  for 
14* 


162  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1799. 

several  montlis,  encountered  great  opposition,  and  had 
been  quite  useful. 

Pottle  was  a  native  of  Stratham,  had  lived  in  New  Dur- 
ham, where  he  served  as  Deacon,  and  settled  in  Middle- 
ton  when  Buzzell  removed  to  Parsonsfield.  He  was  a  ready 
speaker,  but  his  active  temperament  and  want  of  caution, 
often  involved  him  in  difficulties  that  proved  his  ruin. 

Dr.  Jackson  was  a  practising  physician  and  useful  man. 
His  labors  were  mostly  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 
people  in  his  own  town,  and  many  of  them  became  mem- 
bers of  the  church  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made 
him  overseer. 

The  churches  known  to  have  been  organized  during 
this  decade,  were,  in  1791,  Middleton  and  Pittsfield ;  '92, 
Wolfborough;  '93,  Gilmanton  Iron-Works;  '94,  Canter- 
bury ;  '98,  Unity  and  Gilford ;  '99,  Second  Gilmanton, 
Madison,  Warner,  and  one  in  Marshfield,  Mass.  The 
Sandwich  church  was  organized  in  one  of  these  years,  but 
which  is  unknown. 

The  following  men  were  ordained  in  New  Hampshire 
during  the  Second  Decade :  John  Buzzell,  Isaac  Town- 
send,  Daniel  Lord,  David  Knowlton,  Winthrop  Young, 
Jeremiah  Ballard,  Aaron  Buzzell,  Micajah  Otis,  Joseph 
Boody,  Jr.,  Simon  Pottle  and  James  Jackson. 


1791.]  LITTLE   EARLY  INTELLIGENCE.  163 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
VERMONT. 

1791—1800. 

But  little  Early  Intelligence — Church  in  Straiford — Help  from  New 
Hampshire — Church  in  Corinth — Ordination  of  Daniel  Batchelder — 
Revival  in  Tunbridge — Boody  and  Quinby  in  Northern  Vermont. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  traces  of  the  early  church- 
es in  Vermont  are  so  fragmentary.  Only  a  glimpse  now 
and  then  can  be  caught  of  their  condition  in  the  last  cen- 
tury ;  and  the  efforts  in  planting  them,  with  one  excep- 
tion, are  mostly  forgotten,  or  have  been  unfurnished  for 
the  history.  But  enough  is  known  to  justify  the  state- 
ment that  the  cause  of  free  principles  had  to  struggle  into 
existence  through  much  the  same  opposition  in  Vermont 
as  in  New  Hampshire  and  Maine.  It  would  seem,  how- 
ever, that  the  influence  of  the  "  standing  order"  was  less 
intolerant  and  controlling ;  and  the  Calvinism  less  ultra 
and  objectionable.  The  principles  of  free  salvation  took 
deep  root  in  that  virgin  soil,  and  are  still  abiding  in  the 
second  and  third  generations  of  the  people.  The  number 
of  strong  churches  has  never  been  large,  but  from  them, 
and  even  some  of  the  feeblest  ones,  have  gone  forth  the 
first  men  to  raise  the  standard  of  the  cross  westward  of 
New  England.  And  in  every  period  of  our  history  has 
that  state  furnished  her  quota  of  ministers  to  the  cause, 
many  of  her  ablest  ones  having  spent  their  best  energies 
in  other  fields  of  labor. 

A  letter  dated  Strafford,  Vt.,  Sept.   10,   1791,  and  ad- 
dressed "  To  the  Baptist  church  in  New  Durham,  N.  H.," 


164  VERMONT.  [1792. 

was  duly  received.  It  was  written  by  Samuel  Rich  in 
behalf  of  others,  and  said,  "  We  now  think  it  expedient  to 
come  into  church  order,  as  the  word  of  God  directs  ;  and 
being  informed  by  Bro,  Dickey  of  your  standing  and  or- 
der, it  being  agreeable  to  our  minds,  we  request  some  of 
the  Elders  of  your  church  to  come,  as  soon  as  possible,  to 
our  assistance  ;  as  we  are  exposed  to  many  snares,  and 
are  alone  as  to  sentiment  in  this  part  of  the  world." 

Here  was  a  true  Macedonian  cry ;  but  as  Randall  had 
just  returned  from  a  journey  of  five  weeks'  absence  to 
Maine,  was  engaged  to  make  another,  and  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  was  approaching,  it  was  not  convenient  for  him, 
or  any  other  minister,  to  visit  them  immediately.  The 
best  that  could  be  done  was  to  send  them  a  letter  of  con- 
gratulation and  encouragement,  with  the  assurance  that 
messengers  would  visit  them  at  the  earliest  possible  con- 
venience, and  saying,  "  In  the  meantime  we  pray  you  to 
be  steadfast  and  unmovable,  and  '  keep  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.'  " 

It  was  not  till  the  next  July  that  Randall  and  John  Buz- 
zell  made  a  tour  to  Vermont.  They  bore  with  them  a  let- 
ter of  commendation,  and  were  gladly  received.  It  ap- 
peared that  a  j'oung  man  by  the  name  of  Robert  Dickey, 
from  Epsom,  N.  H.,  and  a  member  of  the  New  Durham 
church,  had  come  to  Strafford,  and  was  in  the  employ  of 
a  relative  as  a  hired  laborer.  After  mourning  over  the 
profanity  and  general  wickedness  of  the  people,  Dickey 
began  to  exhort  them  to  repent,  and  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come.  Having  "  an  excellent  gift  of  exhortation,"  and 
having  had  the  confidence  and  encouragement  of  Randall, 
he  continued  to  warn  the  people ;  and  many  were  wise 
enough  to  heed  the  admonition,  notwithstanding  the  scoffs 
of  the  wicked.  About  thirty  were  hopefully  converted 
and  happily  engaged  in  the  worship  of  God.  Hearing  of 
the  revival,  others  came  in,  and  soon  the  tares  of  secta- 
rianism were  sown  with  the  good  seed  of  the  kingdom. 
Several  were  baptized,   Calvinistic  articles  of  faith  wer« 


1792.]  CHURCH   IN    STRAFFORD.  165 

presented  and  tacitly  received,  and  a  church  was  organ- 
ized. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Eandall  and  Buzzell 
arrived.  They  tarried  a  nunaber  of  days,  preached  fre- 
quently, visited  extensively,  and  baptized  several.  The 
converts  were  divided  in  their  doctrinal  views,  but  united 
in  their  church  relations,  and  being  filled  with  the  Spirit, 
they  believed  it  possible  to  live  in  peace,  having  softened 
their  high-toned  articles  of  faith.  Without  objections, 
they  were  allowed  to  make  the  trial,  and  were  recognized 
as  an  independent  church.  In  this  condition  Randall  and 
Buzzell  left  them,  fearful  that  they  could  not  walk  togeth- 
er, because  they  were  not  agreed  in  the  doctrines  of  com- 
munion, election,  and  final  perseverance. 

This  journey  was  attended  with  great  fatigue,  being 
performed  on  horseback  through  a  new,  and  much  of  the 
way  a  wilderness,  country.  The  heat  was  oppressive  by 
day,  and  their  lodgings  were  more  than  once  the  hard 
floor  by  night.  It  was  attended  with  some  expense,  be- 
sides the  loss  of  a  fortnight's  time  ;  and  their  receipts 
amounted  to  "  four  whole  pistareens," — about  eighty  cents 
— which  Eandall  divided  equally  between  himself  and  his 
travelling  companion.  Buzzell  declined  the  moiety  ten- 
dered him,  but  Randall  said,  "  You  shall  have  it.  Take 
it  and  carry  it  to  your  wife." 

The  fears  of  Randall  were  soon  realized.  The  breth- 
ren in  Vermont  could  not  let  the  difference  in  their  doc- 
trinal views  rest,  neither  could  they  discuss  those  views  in 
love  and  forbearance.  A  spirit  of  alienation  soon  crept 
in,  and  a  mutual  council  was  called.  A  letter  received  at 
New  Durham  requested  Randall  or  some  of  the  "  most 
able  members"  to  come  to  their  assistance.  Accompanied 
by  a  lay  brother,  he  visited  them  again  in  February,  1793, 
and  met  in  council  six  others  from  Calvinistic  Baptist 
churches  in  the  vicinity,  for  the  settlement  of  their  diffi- 
culty. As  the  division  involved  principles  that  neither 
party  could  surrender,  the  council  advised  a  separation. 


16€  VERMONT.  [1792. 

But  some  were  undecided  with  which  division  to  go  ;  and, 
to  make  a  finality  of  the  matter,  it  was  agreed  that  Wil- 
liam Grow,  a  Calvinist,  and  Randall  should  each  preach  a 
discourse,  embodying  his  own  views  on  the  "  five  points" 
of  Calvinism,  and  then  they  would  "  poll  the  house."  The 
sermons  were  accordingly  preached,  after  which  the  churcli 
took  the  broad  aisle,  and  Grow  standing  on  one  side  of  the 
house  and  Randall  on  the  other,  the  members  were  called 
upon  to  follow  the  minister  of  their  choice.  Ten  stood 
with  Grow  and  fifteen  with  Randall.  Neither  division 
was  then  organized  as  a  church,  but  "  a  solemn  word  of 
Ciiution,  advice  and  exhortation  was  given  by  several," 
that  they  would  strive  to  live  in  Christian  "  love  and 
union,  and  not  be  consumed  one  by  the  other."  Having 
*' joined  in  solemn  prayer,"  the  council  dissolved  and  the 
congregation  dispersed. 

Among  the  fifteen  that  stood  with  Randall  were  two 
men  of  note.  Dickey,  noted  for  what  he  had  done  in  the 
commencement  of  the  revival,  and  subsequently  in  the 
ministry,  though  sad  to  relate,  afterwards  joined  the 
Shakers  ;  and  Nathaniel  Brovra,  noted  for  his  future  la- 
bors. He  soon  entered  the  ministry,  preached  success- 
fully in  Vermont,  afterwards  removed  to  New  York, 
planted  our  first  churches  in  that  State,  and  organized  the 
first  Quarterly  Meeting  beyond  the  limits  of  New  Eng- 
land. 

Randall,  on  his  return,  informed  Buzzell  of  the  tried 
state  of  the  brethren  in  Vermont,  and  advised  him  to  go 
to  their  relief.  He  did  so  immediately,  and  performed  the 
entire  journey,  of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles,  on  foot, 
through  the  snows  of  February,  on  the  last  days  of  that 
unpleasant  month  for  travelling.  He  found  them,  not  on- 
ly at  variance  with  the  Calvinists,  but  divided  among 
themselves,  and  greatly  disheartened.  He  preached  sev- 
eral times,  visited  frcm  house  to  house,  and  encouraged 
them  as  best  he  could  ;  but  no  human  poAver  could  move 
them  to  action.     Like  Elijah  under  the  juniper  tree,  they 


179-.]  CHURCH   IN   STRAFFORD.  167 

were  ready  to  die.  At  tlieir  last  meeting  he  called  them 
into  a  room  by  themselves,  told  them  of  his  anxiety  for 
their  spiritual  life  and  labor,  the  pains  he  had  taken  to  af- 
ford them  aid,  and  the  apparent  failure  of  his  effort. 
"  Now,"  said  he,  "I  a'sk  it  as  a  parting  favor,  that  you 
sit  down  in  silence  with  me  for  one  half  hour,  and  think 
of  your  condition." 

A  request  so  reasonable,  under  the  circvimstances,  they 
could  not  refuse,  and  all  were  seated.  But  the  burden  of 
that  thoughtful  hour  !  Some  recalled  to  mind  the  mercies 
of  God,  and  their  own  obligations  of  love  and  obedience. 
Others  were  awake  to  duty,  but  striving  with  their  Maker, 
while  Buzzell  was  earnestly  engaged  in  mental  prayer. 
God  was  in  that  silence  ;  and  after  fifteen  or  twenty  min- 
utes, one  of  the  number  could  suppress  his  convictions  no 
longer,  and,  in  a  most  contrite  and  affecting  manner,  con- 
fessed his  wanderings  from  God,  asked  forgiveness,  and 
declared  his  purpose  to  live  for  Christ.  Eight  others  in 
quick  succession  followed  his  example,  and  the  power  of 
God  was  manifest  beyond  description.  These  nine  then 
entered  into  a  covenant  engagement,  and  thus  was  consti- 
tuted our  first  church  among  the  green  hills  of  Vermont. 

No  record  can  now  be  found  of  its  struggles  for  the  first 
ten  years,  but  tradition  says  it  came  up  through  great 
tribulation.  In  1793  this  church  sent  both  letter  and  del- 
egation to  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  New  Durham,  and  re- 
ported itself  as  toiling  on  through  many  discouragements. 
For  a  few  years  it  was  a  lone  star  in  the  State,  and  has 
been  one  of  different  magnitude,  at  different  times,  but  its 
shining  has  always  been  visible. 

Kandall  was  here  again  in  January,  1794.  He  found 
the  church  well  engaged,  and  his  confidence  in  its  success 
was  greatly  strengthened.  At  the  New  Hampshire  Year- 
ly Meeting  in  June,  a  letter,  full  of  encouragement  and 
expressive  of  fellowship,  was  sent  to  the  church  by  Rob- 
ert Dickey,  its  delegate  ;  and  another  was  sent  to  individ- 
uals in  Strafford  who  claimed  to  be  members  of  the  church 


168  VERMONT.  [179-. 

of  New  Dnrham,  but  declined  to  imite  with  that  branch. 
It  said,  "  Dear  brethren,  we  exhort  you,  in  the  love  of 
our  all-glorious  Redeemer,  to  join  fellowship  with  them. 
We  exhort  one  and  all  of  you,  who,  by  your  divisions 
and  controversies,  have  given  the  enemy  cause  to  speak 
reproachfully,  to  confess  your  faults  one  to  another,  and  to 
all  who  have  beheld  the  same." 

At  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  1795,  Eandall,  John  Buzzell, 
Joseph  Boody,  senior,  Isaac  Townsend  and  Daniel  Lord, 
were  appointed  to  visit  this  church  in  turn  ;    each  one  to 
be  accompanied  by  a  layman  chosen  from  his  own  church. 
It  was  thus  that  this  church,  a  kind  of  missionary  station, 
was  cared  for,  and  cherished  in  its  infancy ;  and  with  con- 
fidence did  it  look  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  CA'ery  season 
of  adversity.     In    1796   it  said,   "We  are  distressed  on 
every  side,  and  we  pray  that  you  would  consider  our  case, 
and  do  that  for  us,  or  with  us,  that  you  shall  judge  most 
for  the  glory  of  God."     In  October  of  the  next  year,  the 
church  reported  to  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting, 
both  by  letter  and  delegation,  that  coldness  and  trials  were 
stiU   its   lot.        Rev.   Winthrop   Young,    Ruling    Elders 
Aaron  Buzzell  and  John  Shepherd,  with  Deacon  Kent, 
were  sent  to  Strafford  bearing  a  letter,  Avhich  said,  "  We 
are  grieved  to  hear  that  there  are  such  disorders  among 
you.     We  would  have  the  brethren  and  sisters  who  went 
to  your  parts  from  the  Monthly  Meeting  at  Gilmanton, 
join  you,  and  assist  in  your  difficulties.     They  were  mem- 
bers in  good  standing  with  us.     Note  such  persons  as  walk 
not  according  to  the  gospel  rule,  and  have  no  fellowship 
with  them.     Don't  be  afraid  of  offending  men,  but  always 
be  afraid  of  offending  God.     It  is  a  reproach  to  the  cause 
of  God  to  have  disorderly  members  countenanced  in  the 
church  ;  and  we  cannot  show  our  love  to  God,  to  his  cause, 
nor  to  the  souls  of  transgressors,  any  more  than  by  being 
faithful  to  them,  and  by  cutting  them  off."     The  names  of 
the  Committee  were  given,  and  the  letter  then  says,  "They 
are  authorized  to  transact  any  business  which  they  may 


1799.]  CHURCH   IN   COKINTH.  169 

find  necessary  to  be  done,  even  to  reject  any  who  may  be 
ripe  therefor." 

The  committee  investigated  the  discipline  of  the  church, 
and  the  religious  standing  of  its  members,  and  found  them 
better  united  than  they  had  been.  One,  however,  was 
found  to  be  obstinate  in  his  wrong-doings,  and  a  letter  of 
rejection  was  given  to  the  church  for  him.  The  reader 
will  not  fail  to  notice  that  here  is  seen  the  acknowledged 
authority  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  over  the  members  of 
the  churches,  and  the  delegation  of  that  authority  to  a 
committee,  to  be  exercised  at  their  discretion. 

In  1798  Jeremiah  Ballard,  of  Unity,  N.  H.,  came  up 
the  Connecticut  valley,  preaching  at  various  places,  and 
at  Corinth  several  became  Christians,  and  a  church  of 
about  fifteen  members  was  organized.  This  was  the  sec- 
ond church  in  Vermont,  so  far  as  is  now  known,  and  from 
its  members  six  have  entered  the  ministry.  The  first  was 
Daniel  Batchelber.  He  passed  a  satisfactory  examina- 
tion at  the  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting  in  1799,  and 
Tingley,  Young  and  Ballard  were  chosen  as  an  ordaining 
council.  For  some  reason,  they  did  not  attend  to  their 
assignment  on  the  first  Thursday  in  July,  the  time  specifi- 
ed in  the  records  ;  and  perhaps  it  was  postponed,  that  the 
council  might  act  in  concert  with  a  committee,  consisting 
of  Tingley,  Young,  Daniel  Lord  and  Aaron  Buzzell,  chos- 
en at  the  same  meeting  to  visit  the  "  brethren  in  the  State 
of  Vermont."  Be  that  as  it  may,  he  was  ordained  at 
Corinth  October  4th,  and  it  was  the  first  ordination  by 
our  people  in  the  State.  The  pastoral  relation  was  sus- 
tained between  Batchelder  and  the  Corinth  church  for 
twenty  years. 

Daniel  Batchelder  and  Nathaniel  Brown  held  meetings 
in  Tunbridge  this  season,  and  a  revival  commenced  that 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  a  church  the  next  year. 
Nathaniel  King  was  one  of  the  converts,  and  furnished 
Joseph  Boody,  Jr.,  from  New  Durham,  the  best  hospital- 
ities of  his  house,  and  defended  him  from  insults,  as  he 
15 


170  VERMONT.  [1799, 

was  greatly  opposed  while  preaching  for  a  few  days  in 
town. 

Boody  then  went  to  northern  Vermont,  where  he  was 
the  first  to  preach  a  free  gospel.  At  Hardwick,  as  he 
says,i  five  merabers  of  the  Calvinistic  Baptist  church  were 
excluded  because  they  sympathized  with  him,  and  their 
property  was  distrained  and  sold  at  public  auction  to  pay 
the  arrearage  of  their  ministerial  tax.  He  travelled  con- 
siderably, and  reformations  attended  his  labors,  though 
for  six  months  he  saw  not  a  minister  that  gave  him  a  word 
of  cheer. 

Rev.  Joseph  Quinby  was  the  first  minister  that  visited 
Sutton,  and  a  revival  followed.  He  preached  free  doc- 
trines, though  connected  at  this  time  with  the  Baptists  in 
Sandwich,  N.  H.  He  also  preached  in  Lyndon  and 
Wheelock,  and  saw  some  of  the  harvest,  but  churches 
were  not  organized  till  a  year  or  two  afterwards. 

The  churches  known  to  have  existed  in  Vermont  at  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were  Strafford,  organized 
in  1793,  and  Corinth,  in  1798  ;  and  Daniel  Batchelder  was 
the  only  man  that  had  received  ordination. 

*  "  Sketch  of  the  Travels  and  Labors  of  Eld.  Joseph  Boody." — Bepos- 
itory. 


BEVIEW.  171 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  SECOND  DECADE. 

1790—1800. 

Review — Statistics — Denominational  Name — Call  to  the  Ministry — ^Ed- 
ucation of  the  Ministry — Counsel  to  the  Ministry — Support  of  the 
Ministry — ^Elders'  Conference — ^Woman's  Labors — Church  Covenants 
— Church  Polity — Dismission  of  Members— Support  of  the  Pooar — 
Hegulating  Committee — ^Military  Parades — Rules  of  Order — ^The  Press 
—Devotional  Spirit. 

There  was  a  wide  difference  between  the  state  of  relig- 
ious interest  in  the  beginning  of  this  decade,  and  that  at 
its  close.  The  long,  dark  night  of  declension  had  then 
been  gathering  over  the  churches  for  several  years,  and 
the  multiplied  trials  within  the  church  were  equalled  only 
by  the  indifference  and  wickedness  without.  Occasional 
beams  of  sunlight  cheered  the  hearts  of  those  toiling  men  ; 
but  it  was  faith,  and  not  success,  that  held  them  true  to 
their  work.  After  the  first  year  or  two,  omens  of  better 
days  appeared,  and  they  began  to  prepare  the  way  of  the 
Lord.  One  of  the  most  encouraging  signs  of  the  times, 
was  the  fact  that  professed  Christians  began  to  feel  ill  at 
ease  in  view  of  their  own  religious  state.  Next  was  ob- 
served a  spirit  of  mourning  over  the  desolations  of  Zion  ; 
and  then,  a  burdened  desire  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
These  inward  convictions  soon  showed  themselves  in  out- 
ward manifestations  ; — as  God  worked  in,  they  worked 
out.  And  being  co-workers  together  with  God,  the  last 
few  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were  years  of  great 
prosperity. 


172  SECOND    DECADE. 

The  reorganization  of  the  New  Durham  church  was  a 
step  of  questionable  propriety,  but  God  certainly  overrul- 
ed it  for  good,  as  he  might  have  done  their  faithful  efforts 
for  its  renovation  under  the  original  organization.  That 
very  precious  and  long-continued  revival  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, also  those  extensive  ones  in  Maine,  particularly 
Bristol,  confirmed  the  fathers  in  the  free  doctrines  they 
proclaimed,  as  being  not  only  the  true  doctrines  of  specu- 
lative theology,  but  of  practical  salvation.  They  were 
unwavering  in  the  faith  themselves,  and  commended  their 
religion  to  others  with  a  confidence  that  insures  success. 
An  itinerant  ministry  and  working  laity,  gathered  in  from 
abroad,  without  losing  at  home. 

The  borders  of  Zion  were  extended  along  the  coast  of 
Maine,  and  hard  upon  the  track  of  pioneer  settlers  in  the 
interior  did  the  men  of  God  follow  with  the  free  doc- 
trines of  the  cross.  And  when  the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord 
was  pitched  in  the  Sandy  river  valley,  its  lengthening 
cords  and  strengthening  stakes,  soon  secured  for  it  a  per- 
manency in  that  locality.  In  New  Hampshire,  Zion's 
King  was  enlisting  followers  by  the  hundred,  and  the  ex- 
tent and  progress  of  his  conquests  were,  at  times,  unpre- 
cedented. Crossing  the  Connecticut  river,  permanent  in- 
terests were  established  in  both  central  and  northern 
Vermont. 

During  these  ten  years,  thirty-three  churches  are  knoAvn 
to  have  been  organized,  besides  a  large  number  of  branch- 
es established,  that  soon  became  distinct  churches.  Eigh- 
teen ministers  were  ordained,  besides  the  accession  of 
Richard  Martin  and  Edward  Lock.  Nathan  Merrill 
ceased  to  cooperate  longer  with  the  people  of  his  early 
choice. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting,  that  had  been  in  successful 
operation  for  nine  years,  and  that  embraced  all  the  church- 
es, changed  its  name  in  1792,  and,  gradually,  its  sphere 
of  action.  It  became  a  Yearly  Meeting,  but  six  local 
Quarterly  Meetings   supplied   its  place  within  as   many 


DENOMINATIONAL   NAME.  173 

years  ;  and  the  number  of  churches,  names  of  ministers, 
and  the  number  unordained  in  each,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  century,  is  believed  to  have  been  as 
follows  : 

New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  contained  fifteen  church- 
es ;  and  its  fourteen  ministers  were,  John  Blaisdell,  Joseph 
Boody,  Joseph  Boody,  Jr.,  Aaron  Buzzell,  James  Jack- 
son, David  Knowlton,  Daniel  Lord,  Gershom  Lord,  Rich- 
ard Martin,  Micajah  Otis,  Simon  Pottle,  Benjamin  Ran- 
dall, Isaac  Townsend,  and  Winthrop  Young,  besides  at 
least  ten  unordained  preachers. 

Edgeconib  Quarterly  Meeting  had  eleven  churches  ;  and 
its  three  ministers  were  John  M.  Bailey,  Daniel  Hibbard, 
and  John  Whitney,  and  two  unordained. 

Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  had  eight  churches  ;  and 
its  two  ministers  were  Edward  Lock  and  Francis  Tufts, 
and  there  were  three  not  ordained. 

Gorham  Quarterly  Meeting  had  six  churches ;  and  its 
four  ministers  were  Joseph  Hutchinson,  Zachariah  Leach, 
James  McCorson,  and  Ephraim  Stinchfield,  and  three  un- 
ordained. 

Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting  had  seven  churches  ;  and 
its  three  ministers  were  John  Buzzell,  Pelatiah  Tingley, 
and  Samuel  Weeks,  and  two  unordained. 

Unity  Quarterly  Meeting  had  four  churches ;  and  its 
two  ministers  were  Daniel  Batchelder  and  Jeremiah  Bal- 
lard, and  there  were  two  or  three  unordained. 

Hence,  as  near  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  there  were 
then  one  Yearly  Meeting,  six  Quarterly  Meetings,  fifty- 
one  churches,  twenty-eight  ordained  ministers,  and  twenty- 
two  unordained.  The  estimated  number  of  members  was 
about  two  thousand. 

Denominational  Name,  Thus  far  in  the  history  has  no 
distinctive  name  been  given  to  this  people,  because  they 
had  assumed  none  for  themselves.  All  the  first  ministers 
had  been  members  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  and  they 
still  claimed  to  be.  They  wanted  no  distinctive  name, 
15* 


174  SECOND   DECADE. 

hence,  their  records,  for  several  years,  speak  of  them  sim- 
ply as  Baptist  ministers  and  Baptist  churches.  And  when 
the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  organized  in  1783,  the  first 
sentence  of  the  records  says,  "  The  Baptist  Quarterly 
Meeting  convened,"  &c. 

They  did,  however,  often  speak  of  themselves  as  "  The 
Church  of  Christ;"  and  Buzzell's  Religious  Magazine, 
published  in  1811,  claims  this  as  the  appropriate  name  of 
the  denomination.  In  the  preface,  he  says,  "  The  first 
church  was  gathered  at  New  Durham,  N.  H.,  in  the  year 
1780,  and  was  called  The  Church  of  Christ.  Every  church 
ought  to  be  governed  by  the  New  Testament  rule,  and 
call  itself  by  no  other  name  than  the  Church  of  Christ.  I 
am  very  certain  that  this  has  been  the  true  meaning  and 
intention  of  this  people  from  the  beginning."  The  author 
had  the  best  of  opportunities  for  knowing  what  he  here 
afiirms,  and  this  statement  is  confirmed  by  various  rec- 
ords. No  other  term  of  designation  than  the  Church  of 
Christ,  is  used  in  the  old  records  of  the  Bethany  [now 
Genesee]  Quarterly  Meeting  for  eight  years,  or  down  to 
1821.  And  yet  a  careful  examination  of  the  subject 
leaves  it  somewhat  doubtful  whether  the  phrase,  "  Church 
of  Christ,"  was  used  as  a  general  appellative,  or  a  denom- 
inational name.  But  it  is  equally  certain  that  they  claim- 
ed to  be  Baptists,  and  that  theirs  was  the  Church  of  Christ. 

As  the  church  at  New  Durham  was  the  oldest,  was 
large  and  influential,  and  as  Randall,  whose  judicious 
counsel  was  everywhere  sought,  resided  there,  and  was 
pastor  of  that  church,  the  term  "  New  Durham  Church,"  or 
"  New  Durham  Connection,"  was  sometimes  given  to  the 
denomination.  In  fact,  some  of  the  other  churches,  when 
organized,  wished  to  enjoy  the  counsels  of  Randall  and  his 
church,  and  were  then  recognized  as  branches  of  the 
New  Durham  church.  This  was  the  case  with  the  Tam- 
worth  and  Second  Strafford  churches,  and  of  some  in 
Maine.  The  language  of  Buzzell  implies  this,  when  he 
says,  in  connection  with  the  above  quotation  :    "  All  the 


DENOMINATIONAL  NAME.  175 

churches  which  have  since  been  gathered  have  been  con- 
sidered in  connection  with  the  Church  of  Christ  at  New 
Durham."  A  letter  from  Vermont  to  the  Yearly  Meeting 
in  1801  was  received,  with  the  following  address :  "  To 
the  Church  of  Christ,  New  Durham  connection." 

As  they  everywhere  declared  that  God  had  made  a 
general  provision  for  the  salvation  of  men,  they  Avere  op- 
probriously  called  "  General  Provisioners."  And  as  they 
declared  that  the  will  of  man  Avas/ree,  they  were,  more 
generally,  and  derisively,  called  "  Freewillers."  Other 
names,  such  as  "  Randallites,"  "  New  Lights,"  "  Open 
Communionists,"  &c.,  were  given  them  by  their  enemies, 
Avhile  they  gave  themselves  no  name,  save  that  of  Baptist, 
Antipedo  Baptists,  or  Church  of  Christ ;  but  neither  of 
these  titles  was  allowed  them. 

Having  no  name  that  the  public  would  recognize,  save 
those  given  in  reproach,  they  often  speak  of  themselves,  in 
their  early  records,  under  the  general  term  of  "  Communi- 
ty," as,  "  the  people,"  "  the  churches,"  "  the  ministry  of 
this  community." 

The  certificates  given  by  the  ordaining  council  to  Otis, 
Boody,  Pottle  and  Jackson,  in  1799,  speak  of  no  less  than 
five  of  the  above  names,  and  begin  as  follows  : 

"  This  certifieth  that ,  of '■ — ,  being 

a  regular  member  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  the  New  Durham  church  ;  also  a 
member  of  the  community  in  general,  commonly  termed 
General  Provisioners,  or  Freewill  Baptists,  was  ordained," 
&c. 

Here,  for  the  first  time,  in  all  the  old  records  or  histori- 
cal papers,  do  we  find  the  term  FreeAvill  Baptist,  and  till 
now  has  the  name  been  purposely  omitted  in  this  history, 
save  in  the  Introductory  Chapter.  Let  it  be  remembered 
that  Randall  and  his  associates  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
name  Freewill  Ba'ptist  for  twenty  years  after  the  separa- 
tion, and  when  they  first  placed  it  upon  their  records,  in 
preserving  a  copy  of  the  above  certificates,  it  was  certainly 


176  SECOND   DECADE. 

not  received  with  favor.  Many  of  the  fathers  lived  aud 
died  objecting  to  the  name,  but  a  majority  finally  acqui- 
esced in  its  use.  As  the  denomination  has  too  often  been 
content  to  occupy  the  retired  place  assigned  it  by  others, 
so  the  name  finally  assumed,  was  by  no  means  the  one 
of  their  choice,  but  the  one  their  opposers  had  fastened 
upon  them. 

The  term  Freewill  Baptist  continued  to  be  used  only 
occasionally  till  five  years  after,  when  the  denomination 
was  acknowledged  by  the  New  Hampshire  Legislature 
with  said  title.  Since  then  it  has  been  more  generally  re- 
ceived ;  though  there  have  always  been  those  who  prefer- 
red the  original  name,  "  Church  of  Christ,"  or,  if  that  is 
inadmissible,  many  would  prefer  "  Free  Baptist,"  as  a 
more  expressive  and  appropriate  name,  since  we  believe, 
not  only  in  free  "will,  but  free  salvation  and  free  commun- 
ion. 

In  view  of  the  name  assumed,  Buzzell  has  preserved 
this  saying  of  Randall :  "  The  devil  always  overshoots 
the  mark  when  he  attempts  to  reproach  the  people  of  God. 
The  disciples  were  contemptuously  called  '  Christians '  at 
Antioch,  but  that  has  become  a  name  of  the  highest  na- 
tional respect.  So  the  name  '  Freewill '  may,  in  process 
of  time,  become  a  title  of  high  respect  in  the  Christian 
world." 

A  Special  Call  to  the  ministry  has  ever  been  the  faith 
of  Freewill  Baptists.  The  idea  of  such  a  call  gtands  close- 
ly connected  mth  that  of  a  special  providence,  and  grows 
out  of  the  free  and  intimate  communion  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
with  living  Christians.  Since  the  blessings  of  salvation 
are  provided  by  God,  it  is  for  him  to  publish  the  glad 
tidings  by  Avhom  he  will.  No  man  is  at  liberty  to  enter 
the  ministry  from  mere  choice,  or  any  other  motive  than 
that  of  a  Divine  call.  It  has  been  well  said,^  "  that  an 
essential  call  to  the  ministry  consists  in  a  state  of  mind, 
or  disposition  towards  it,  which  may  be  denominated 
»  Freemll  Baptist  Quarterly,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  384. 


CALL   TO   THE   MINISTRY.  177 

'  desire,'  induced  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  confirmed  by 
Divine  Providence."  And,  as  Butler's  Theology  says, 
"  The  will  of  God  is  to  be  sought  on  the  subject ;  and  it  is 
to  be  learned  in  a  rational  way."  In  deciding  the  ques- 
tion of  a  call  to  the  ministry,  one  is  not  to  be  influenced 
by  his  own  mere  feelings  ;  for  there  may  be  a  natural  in- 
clination to  the  work,  or  there  may  be  at  first  a  strong 
aversion  to  it.  But  he  must  feel  an  abiding  conviction  of 
God's  pleasure  in  that  direction  ;  and  under  this  convic- 
tion, the  true  Christian  minister  will  find,  not  only  great 
peace  of  mind,  but  that  his  sweetest  pleasure  wiU  be  in 
the  work  to  which  he  is  conscious  God  has  called  him. 
And,  having  a  Divinely  begotten  relish  for  it,  he  wiU  be 
the  more  successful. 

Nor  is  it  enough  for  the  person  himself  to  feel  conscious 
of  his  call,  but  the  church  also  is  supposed  to  understand 
the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  and  aid  the  inquirer  in  searching 
for  duty.  Any  man  has  reason  to  distrust  his  impressions, 
if  the  church  gains  no  evidence  of  his  call.  The  fathers 
placed  great  reliance  on  this  part  of  the  evidence  of  one's 
call.  Hence  the  "  trial  "  sermon,  so  generally  required, 
that  all  might  satisfy  themselves.  And  the  examination 
of  David  Knowlton,  previously  given,  is  but  a  sample  of 
the  examinations  generally  in  ascertaining  the  opinion  of 
the  church.  And  however  earnest  and  persistent  was 
any  one  in  claiming  to  be  Divinely  called,  and,  conse- 
quently, asking  for  countenance,  his  pretensions  were 
utterly  disregarded  when  unsustained  by  the  church.  An 
instance  to  the  point  was  the  case  of  Bradbury  Green,  a 
member  of  the  same  church  with  Knowlton.  He  would 
hold  meetings  under  his  own  appointment  so  long  as  any 
would  attend,  and  then  he  would  obtrude  himself  as  a 
preacher,  upon  the  appointment  of  others,  or  the  social 
meetings  of  the  church.  He  was  not  only  rebuked  by  the 
Quarterly  Meeting,  but  the  Yearly  Meeting  wrote  him, 
saying :  "  We  are  much  grieved  with  thee,  on  account  of 
thy  going  about  and  appointing  meetings  as  thou  dost,  for 


178  SECOND   DECADE. 

we  do  not  believe  it  is  for  the  glory  of  God."  And  yet  he 
must  and  would  preach.  It  was  then  voted  unanimously 
that  he  "  never  was  called  to  be  a  public  preacher  of  the 
gospel ;"  but  this  did  not  silence  him.  After  being  an- 
noyed with  his  preaching  efforts  for  ten  or  a  dozen  years, 
though  generally  considered  as  a  Christian  man  in  other 
respects,  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  at  the  close  of  this  de- 
cade, admonished  the  people  not  to  "  receive  him  as  a  pub- 
lic speaker,  or  allow  him  to  have  a  meeting  in  their 
houses."  Such  responsibilities  were  unhesitatingly  as- 
sumed when  the  cause  of  Christ  required  it. 

Submissive  as  the  early  Freewill  Baptists  were  to  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  their  great  prudence  in  de- 
ciding upon  the  call  of  others  to  the  ministry,  must  for- 
ever exonerate  them  from  the  charge  of  credulity,  in  re- 
ceiving as  valid  testimony  the  mere  impressions  of  the 
candidate,  or  of  his  particular  friends.  The  facts  of  their 
frequent  postponement,  and  ultimate  refusal  of  applica- 
tions for  ordination,  when  the  harvest  was  so  great  and 
the  laborers  so  few,  and  that  only  four  were  ordained  dur- 
ing the  first  twelve  years,  shows  conclusively  that  they 
heeded  the  injunction,  "  Lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man." 

Education  did  not  receive  much  attention  from  any  dis- 
senting sect,  as  a  preparatory  means  of  usefulness.  Hav- 
ing seen  human  learning  exalted,  even  to  the  neglect  of 
piety,  in  some  instances,  the  fathers  reversed  the  order, 
and  made  piety  an  absolutely  essential  qualification  for  the 
ministry,  while  no  prescribed  literary  attainments  were 
required.  There  is  no  evidence  of  opposition  to  education 
on  the  one  hand,  or  of  its  glorification  on  the  other.  The 
truth  is,  that  beyond  the  ordinary  means  furnished  by 
common  schools,  and  general  reading  afterwards,  educa- 
tion was  simply  neglected.  The  all-prevailing  desire  was 
to  have  the  heart  right  in  the  sight  of  God,  to  have  a 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  experimental  religion,  and  an 
endowment  from  on  high.  Having  these  qualifications, 
and,  of  course,  good  common  seijse,  and  a  readiijess  to 


COUNSEL   TO   THE   MINISTRY.  179 

communicate,  the  amount  of  one's  education  was  hardly- 
taken  into  the  account  of  his  qualifications  for  the  minis- 
try. Under  these  circumstances,  opposers  of  religion  have 
traduced  some  of  those  useful  men,  and  repeated  the  jeers 
of  Celsus,  the  first  writer  against  Christianity,  "  that  wool- 
workers,  cobblers,  leather  dressers,  the  most  illiterate  and 
vulgar  of  mankind,  were  zealous  preachers  of  the  gos- 
pel." 

The  Counsel  asked  by  a  minister  when  contemplating  a 
removal  from  one  field  of  labor  to  another,  is  an  interest- 
ing feature  of  those  early  times.  In  1797,  the  Edgecomb 
Quarterly  Meeting  not  only  invited  John  Buzzell  to  settle 
within  its  limits,  but  laid  the  request  before  the  Yearly 
Meeting.  Buzzell  himself  referred  the  subject  to  the  New 
Durham  Quarterly  Meeting,  of  which  he  was  then  a  mem- 
ber, and  that  body,  in  turn,  referred  it  to  the  churches. 
Action  was  taken  thereon  in  the  Monthly  Meetings,  and 
most  of  them  left  it  with  him  to  decide  as  he  might  see  his 
duty  most  clear.  He  declined  the  invitation.  The  next 
year  he  was  invited  to  remove  to  the  Farmington  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  as  his  labors  were  more  needful  there,  than 
in  New  Hampshire.  The  advice  of  the  Yearly  Meeting 
was  again  asked,  and  the  question  was  again  left  optional 
with  him  ;  and  this  invitation  was  also  declined  ;  but  the 
one  from  Parsonsfield,  about  the  same  time,  was  accepted. 

The  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  next  applied  to 
Ephraim  Stinchfield,  of  the  Gorham  Quarterly  Meeting, 
but  obligations  to  his  aged  parents  would  not  permit  the 
removal  of  his  family  from  New  Gloucester.  He  could, 
however,  appropriate  a  part  of  his  labors  abroad,  and  the 
Yearly  Meeting  "  Voted  that  brother  Ephraim  Stinchfield 
be  a  member  of  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting,  accord- 
ing to  their  request." 

Rev.  Aaron  Buzzell  had  been  to  Strafibrd,  Vt.,  where 
his  labors  were  very  acceptable  to  the  people,  and,  in  1799, 
he  was  invited  to  settle  there.  He  asked  advice,  and  the 
Yearly  Meeting  "  Voted  that  Eld.  Aaron  Buzzell  have  hi* 


180  SECOND   DECADE. 

liberty  to  answer  Strafford  request,  respecting  his  re- 
moval to  that  place."  From  the  many  instances  of  this 
kind  on  record,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  general  desire, 
though  not  universal,  to  take  counsel  in  answering  a  call 
for  settlement. 

This  asking  advice  of  the  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meet- 
ings, and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  given,  not  only  show 
a  desire  to  be  in  the  path  of  duty,  where  the  most  good 
would  be  accomplished,  but  they  seem  to  imply  a  kind  of 
supervision  in  those  bodies  over  the  labors  of  the  ministry; 
For  years  the  records  of  the  churches  were  read  in  the 
Quarterly  Meeting,  and  it  being  thus  acquainted  with  their 
condition  in  detail  four  times  a  year,  counsel  was  given, 
committees  sent,  or  ministerial  labor  provided,  as  circum- 
stances requ^ired.  A  careful  survey  of  the  field  was  taken 
at  every  Quarterly  Meeting,  not  only  to  supply  the  desti- 
tute and  aid  the  feeble  churches,  but  to  occupy  promising 
outposts,  where  there  was  a  hope  of  establishing  churches. 

In  this  light,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  practically  a 
Home  Mission  organization.  Rochester,  Somersworth 
and  Farmington  were  regularly  supplied  with  preaching 
by  arrangements  made  in  the  New  Durham  Quarterly 
Meeting  from  session  to  session.  Other  Quarterly  Meet- 
ings did  the  same,  sending  out  laborers  into  unoccupied 
fields,  and  gathering  clmrches  through  their  own  instru- 
mentality. Sometimes  objections  were  made,  as  in  the 
case  of  Townsend  of  Wolf  borough.  He  declined  an  ap- 
pointment in  1797,  and  said,  "  I  do  not  feel  free  that  the 
meeting  should  have  power  to  send  me  any  where  you 
please,  or  think  needful."  He  was  asked  to  consider  that 
the  gospel  had  been  provided  by  an  infinite  sacrifice,  and 
had  everyAvhere  been  extended  only  by  the  sacrifice  of 
somebody.  The  earnest  appeals  of  his  brethren  relaxed  his 
purpose,  and  the  record  says,  "  he  concludes  to  give  himself 
up  to  the  government  of  the  meeting." 

In  those  days,  when  the  amount  of  labor  assigned  at 
the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  tenfold  greater  than  now,  min- 


SUPPORT   OP   THE   MINISTRY.  181 

isters  did  not  feel  themselves  at  liberty  to  disregard  the 
word  of  God,  which  says,  "  Ye  younger,  submit  your- 
selves unto  the  elder.  Yea,  all  of  you  be  subject  one  to 
another."  It  is  within  the  recollection  of  many  of  us, 
that  our  aged  brethren,  when  appointed  to  some  service 
against  their  personal  wishes,  would  rise  and  say,^ 
"  Brother  Moderator,  I  yield  to  the  opinion  of  Confer- 
ence, not  because  I  am  pleased  with  the  appointment,  but 
because  I  am  commanded  to  be  in  subjection  to  my  breth- 
ren." 

The  Support  of  tlie  Ministry  was  one  of  the  important 
questions  in  the  early  history  of  the  denomination.  When 
the  fathers  were  called  into  the  gospel  field,  no  church 
gave  them  an  invitation  to  locate,  with  the  promise  of  sup- 
port. Indeed,  there  was  no  pecuniary  inducement  for  a 
man  to  enter  the  ministry ;  but,  rather,  the  self-sacrificing 
prospect  of  doing  it  "at  his  own  charges."  The  fields 
were  white,  the  harvest  was  wasting,  God  was  calling, 
and  man  was  inviting ;  but  human  compensation  entered 
not  into  the  arrangement  of  those  times,  though  God  had 
said,  on  his  part,  "  Whatsoever  is  right,  that  shall  ye  re- 
ceive." This  promise,  however,  was  not  understood  to 
mean  that  the  gospel  laborer  would  receive  from  the  peo- 
ple a  just  equivalent  in  temporal  things  ;  for  the  Lord 
knew  too  weU  man's  love  of  money,  to  stand  as  universal 
security  for  ministerial  support.  The  word  of  truth  in 
their  hearts,  each  minister  might  say,  was  "  as  a  burning 
fire  shut  up  in  my  bones,"  and  there  was  no  alternative 
but  preach  or  die.  They  went  forth,  wherever  the  provi- 
dence or  Spirit  of  God  opened  the  way,  asking  not  for  re- 
muneration, but  feeling  that  it  was  reward  enough  for  the 
time,  to  be  in  the  path  of  duty,  and  see  sinners  turning  to 
the  Lord.  But,  having  families  dependent  upon  the  avails 
of  their  labor,  they  could  not  give  themselves  so  fully  to 
the  work  as  they  would,  or  as  the  cause,  otherwise,  seem- 
ed to  require. 
16 


182  SECOND   DECADE. 

The  dijBTerence  of  opinion  as  to  the  real  views  of  tte 
early  Freewill  Baptists  on  this  question,  requires  a  state- 
ment of  those  views,  sustained  by  facts  and  illustrations. 
It  is  clear,  beyond  all  question,  that,  in  principle,  they  did 
not  differ  essentially  from  Freewill  Baptists  of  this  day  as 
to  the  duty  of  sustaining  the  ministry.  Their  doctrine 
was  that  the  minister  should  be  compensated  for  the  time 
and  energies  he  actually  devoted  to  the  church.  If  the 
six  days  of  secular  time  were  appropriated  to  his  o^vn  in- 
terests, his  sermons  on  the  Sabbath,  delivered  without 
preparation,  could  not,  in  justice,  claim  much  remunera- 
tion from  the  church.  If  his  time  was  given  to  the  cause, 
then  should  he  be  sustained  ;  and  they  not  only  believed, 
but  distinctly  taught,  that  it  was  the  Lord  who  had  or- 
dained that  "  tJiey  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the 
gospel."  The  united  testimony  of  the  aged,  Avho  associa- 
ted with  Randall,  is  to  this  point — ^He  always  opposed  a 
stipulated  salary  as  "  worldly  order,"  whereas,  the  minis- 
ters of  Christ  should  go  forth  trusting  in  God  and  the 
church.  And  if  the  church  did  not  provide  for  the  minis- 
try, whose  labors  it  enjoyed,  the  curse  of  God  would  rest 
upon  it. 

Says  Rev.  Thomas  Perkins,  "  Randall  was  not  opposed 
to  the  support  of  the  ministry,  but  urged  it  as  a  duty ;  yet 
it  must  be  voluntary,  and  without  any  stipulated  agree- 
ment." But  his  objection  to  a  "  stipulated  agreement"  did 
not  cut  off  all  understanding  between  church  and  pastor, 
as  to  compensation.  It  is  on  record  that  a  complaint  was 
brought  into  the  Yearly  Meeting  against  Daniel  Hibbard 
for  preaching  at  "Westport  for  money.  His  reply  was,  that 
the  wants  of  his  family  absolutely  required  all  the  avails 
of  his  labor  through  the  week,  or  an  equivalent.  The 
church  and  people  desired  his  labor,  in  part,  for  their  own 
spiritual  good,  and  proposed  to  pay  him  in  full  for  all  the 
time  devoted  to  their  interests.  This  proposition  he  ac- 
cepted, and  Randall  defended  and  sustained  him  in  the 
aiTangement  he  had  made. 


SUPPORT   OF   THE   MINISTRY.  183 

In  1795,  the  church  in  Wilton,  Me.,  "  voted  to  raise  a 
sum  of  money  by  an  equality,  for  the  support  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  chose  Assessors,  Treasurer  and  Collector."  In 
1799,  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  "  voted  that  if 
the  Yearly  Meeting  could  supply  us  with  a  teaching  Elder, 
we  would  support  him  and  his."  In  1800,  the  New  Dur- 
ham Quarterly  Meeting  raised  one  hundred  dollars  by  as- 
sessment on  the  churches,  and  with  this  money  a  horse 
was  hired  for  the  use  of  Daniel  Lord,  and  one  was  pur- 
chased for  RandaU.  Three  years  afterwards  twenty  dol- 
lars were  appropriated  to  Randall's  support  by  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting.  At  the  same  time  the  New  Durham 
church  chose  a  committee  of  three  to  visit  him  "  during 
his  sickness,  and  provide  such  things  and  means  as  they 
may  think  necessary  for  his  comfort,  and  report  to  the 
next  Monthly  Meeting." 

Two  years  after  the  death  of  Randall,  the  records  of 
the  church  at  New  Durham  read  as  foUows  :  "  After  unit- 
ing to  ask  wisdom  of  the  Lord,  took  into  consideration 
the  way  and  manner  in  which  Eld.  Moses  Cheney  and 
family  should  be  supported  the  present  season.  Voted 
that  a  comnaittee  be  chosen  to  provide  some  suitable  place 
for  him,  and  report  to  the  next  church  meeting."  At  the 
next  meeting.  May  9th,  the  committee  reported  that  they 
had  engaged  a  tenement  "  for  twelve  months  at  twenty- 
four  dollars  in  produce  at  the  current  price,"  and  the  re- 
port was  accepted.  It  was  also  voted  that  all  "  the  mem- 
bers contribute  towards  the  support  of  Elder  Cheney  and 
family,  as  they  feel  free  in  their  own  minds,  and  deliver  it 
to  him  themselves." 

Such  votes  of  churches  and  Quarterly  Meetings  recog- 
nize the  principle  of  ministerial  support  as  now  regarded, 
but  they  are  not  to  be  taken  as  an  expression  of  general 
acknowledgment  of  the  obligation,  on  the  part  of  the 
church.  Rev.  Richard  M.  Carey,  of  western  New  York, 
devoted  himself  almost  exclusively  to  the  ministry,  and 
says,  "  During  my  most  extensive  labors  I  received  no 


184  SECOND   DECADE. 

salary,  though  some  administered  to  my  wants  in  a  pri- 
vate way.  But  these  presents,  as  they  were  called,  for 
twelve  years  of  my  most  active  life,  could  not  have  ex- 
ceeded fifty  dollars  a  year  ;  not  that  I  ever  preached 
against  a  minister's  being  paid  for  his  labors — God  him- 
self has  settled  that  question,  '  The  laborer  is  worthy  of 
his  hire' — but  had  we  waited  till  we  could  have  been  sus- 
tained, we  never  should  have  seen  the  church  arise."  It 
will  thus  be  seen  that  facts  sustain  the  position  that  the 
fathers  were  not  wrong  in  principle,  but  their  error  was  in 
its  application.  And  this  part  of  the  subject  has  mitigat- 
ing circumstances  that  exonerate  them  from  blame. 

It  was  their  misfortune  to  live  in  an  age  when  religious 
taxation  and  coercion  were  the  laws  of  the  land  ;  when 
a  radical  change  was  demanded,  and  a  sacrifice  required 
to  efiect  it.  They  surveyed  the  ground,  counted  the  cost, 
and  made  the  sacrifice.  They  stepped  out  before  the 
world,  and  took  their  stand  upon  these  two  immutable 
truths — the  support  of  the  ministry  is  a  Divine  require- 
ment, and  that  support  must  be  voluntarily  given.  The 
first  position  needed  but  little  vindication,  and  they  said 
almost  nothing  in  its  defence,  lest  their  arguments  would 
be  construed  in  favor  of  coercion.  Their  opposition  to 
compulsory  means  for  supporting  religion  was  constant 
and  determined  ;  and  so  far  did  they  carry  their  notions 
■of  voluntary  support,  that  it  generally  amounted  to  almost 
no  support  at  all.  The  people  took  advantage  of  their 
freedom  from  taxation  ;  and,  because  the  support  of  re- 
ligion was  to  be  voluntary,  they  regarded  it  as  optional, 
forgetting  that  the  moral  obligation  remained,  though  the 
legal  was  repealed.  On  this  point  was  the  deficiency  of 
instruction,  and  the  embarrassments  in  giving  it,  conse- 
quently the  sacrifice  of  the  early  ministers. 

It  was  then  an  untried  experiment  to  leave  the  support 
of  religion  to  the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people  ; 
but  it  was  the  gospel  ground,  and  the  Freewill  Baptist 
ministry  were  ready  to  hazard  their  all  in  the  trial,  hav- 


SUPPORT   OF   THE   MINISTRY.  185 

iHg  full  confidence  in  the  ultimate  results.  So  anxious 
were  they  in  securing  their  end — the  removal  of  all  legal 
and  coercive  means  for  sustaining  the  cause  of  Christ — that 
they  voluntarily  subjected  themselves  to  great  privations 
and  self-denials.  They  not  only  refused  all  legal  support, 
but  generally  declined  all  stipulated  agreements,  receiving 
only  what  individuals  were  disposed  to  give.  And  during 
this  transition  state,  this  action  and  reaction,  this  break- 
ing down  of  a  long-established,  compulsory  usage,  and  the 
building  up  of  a  voluntary  one, — during  this  time  of  near- 
ly forty  years  in  their  early  history,  the  Freewill  Baptist 
ministry  stood  as  a  pledge  to  the  world,  that  religion 
would  be  sustained,  and  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  people 
would  be  cared  for,  without  the  aid  of  civil  law.  They 
despised  a  legal  salary,  and  many  of  them  utterly  refused 
all  compensation.  Such  a  revolution  in  the  church  could 
not  be  effected  without  sacrifices,  and  God  raised  up  those 
self-denying  men  for  this  same  purpose,  to  show  Avhat  could 
and  would  be  done,  by  a  church  cut  loose  from  State  patron- 
age and  dictation.  The  world  was  slow  to  believe  that 
religion  could  be  sustained,  much  less  advanced,  by  re- 
leasing the  people  from  their  legal  obligations ;  and  so 
God  gave  freely  of  his  spirit  to  the  fathers,  and  they  laid 
aU  upon  the  altar  of  consecration  ;  they  cared  not  for  fee 
or  reward,  and  would  be  satisfied  only  when  men  were  left 
free  to  sustain  religion,  as  they  were  to  accept  it.  And 
they  were  successful.  The  credit  of  this  change  by  no 
means  belongs  to  the  Freewill  Baptists  alone,  but  the 
extent  of  their  influence  in  the  work  has  never  been  ap- 
preciated by  the  public  ;  and  the  trials  they  experienced, 
the  privations  they  endured,  the  sufferings  of  ministers' 
families,  left  with  limited  supplies,  while  the  husband  and 
father  was  often  absent,  preaching  without  compensation 
— these  scenes  will  never  be  painted  on  the  canvas  of 
time,  save  here  and  there  an  incident  that  has  been  snatch- 
ed from  oblivion's  grasp. 
16* 


186  SECOND   DECADE. 

The  question  of  ministerial  support,  as  it  now  stands, 
has  been  reached  on  the  part  of  Freewill  Baptists,  by  three 
distinct  and  successive  steps  : — First.  The  creation  of  a 
public  sentiment  against  taxation  for  support.  Second. 
The  reaction  of  this  effort,  which  practically  denied  the 
obligation  of  support.  Third.  The  restoration  of  the 
principle  that  God  requires  the  support  of  his  ministry. 
The  advantages  of  the  last  step  have  been  but  recently  se- 
cured, and  reaction  from  this  effort  is  also  to  be  feared,  as 
there  are  ministers  to  be  found  who  wiU  go  or  stay,  just 
as  their  salary  shall  furnish  a  motive. 

The  extreme  caution  of  the  fathers,  in  acting  above  all 
suspicion  of  monied  interest  in  their  efforts  to  promote  re- 
ligion, has  been  seen  in  their  going  out  of  town  for  the 
ordination  of  Jeremiah  BaUard,  and  thus  forfeiting  his 
right  to  the  ministerial  land  of  Unity.  A  similar  case 
occurred  in  1803,  when  David  Knowlton,  Jr.,  was  ordain- 
ed in  Barnstead,  N.  H.  No  minister  had  been  ordained 
in  that  town,  and  by  right  of  priority  the  ministerial  land 
would  be  legally  his  ;  but,  to  relieve  the  council  from  all 
suspicion  of  ordaining  for  money,  and  to  place  himself 
above  all  insinuations,  he  signed  a  paper  before  hands 
were  laid  upon  him,  relinquishing  "  all  right  and  title  he 
might  acquire  by  such  ordination  to  ministerial  land  in 
said  tOAvn,  granted  to  the  first  settled  minister."  ^  The 
same  year  the  church  in  Bradford  dared  not  accept  from 
the  tovra.  its  share  of  the  money  raised  to  hire  preaching, 
lest  the  curse  of  Achan  should  rest  upon  it.  The  Quar- 
terly Meeting  being  consulted,  advised  the  acceptance  of 
the  money,  since  the  proposition  came  from  the  town,  and 
the  money  could  be  deposited  with  the  church  stock  for 
incidental  expenses. 

From  our  stand-point  it  may  seem  that  a  different  posi- 
tion from  that  taken  by  the  early  ministry  might  have 
been  better,  but  we  cannot  fuUy  understand  the  trying  cir- 
cumstances of  their  day.     It  is  to  be  regretted  that  for  so 

2  Elders'  Conference,  Vol.  I.,  p.  33. 


ELDEKS'   CONFERENCE.  187 

many  years — half  a  century  with  some  of  the  churches — 
there  was  no  system,  and  nothing  reliable  in  their  very 
meagre  support  of  the  ministry.  But  when  we  contem- 
plate a  feature  of  their  mission  that  has  been  attended  with 
unfavorable  results,  and  think  of  expressing  disapproba- 
tion, the  recollection  of  their  trials  encountered,  their 
difficulties  surmounted,  and  their  work  accomplished, 
there  is  so  much  to  approve,  we  can  only  say,  they  were 
but  men,  and  very  good,  very  godly  men  are  liable  to  err. 

The  Elders'  Conference  was  established  in  this  decade, 
and  became  an  important  auxiliary  in  the  cause  of  Christ. 
The  ministry  felt  the  need  of  an  association  for  themselves 
more  particularly,  than  the  Quarterly  or  Yearly  Meetings 
were,  and  it  was  agreed  at  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  West- 
port,  Me.,  in  1793,  to  hold  "  a  meeting  of  all  the  Elders, 
exhorters,  and  all  public  speakers,  the  day  previous  to  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  Grorham,  to  endeavor  to  inform  and 
regulate  each  other  in  respect  to  opinions,  doctrines,  and 
practice."  The  importance  of  such  a  meeting  is  more 
clearly  seen  when  we  remember  that  there  was  then  no 
approved  system  of  theology,  embodying  the  great  doc- 
trines of  the  Bible,  no  periodical  as  the  organ  of  the  de- 
nomination, and  no  well-established  usage  on  which  to 
rely.  Ministers  of  different  localities  differed  in  faith  and 
practice,  in  some  particulars,  so  that,  to  secure  uniformity 
among  themselves,  this  new  movement,  like  every  other 
advance  step  taken  by  the  fathers,  was  prompted  by  duty 
— a  kind  of  necessity. 

The  record  does  not  say  that  this  proposed  meeting  was 
held  at  Gorham  in  November,  but  the  doubt  is  scarcely 
admissible  that  those  men  failed  in  fulfilling  a  recorded 
agreement.  It  is  certain  that  there  was  an  "  Elders' 
Meeting  "  in  connection  with  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  New 
Durham  the  next  June,  that  "  continued  by  adjournment 
from  day  to  day,  with  much  satisfaction  :"  also  in  Gor- 
ham the  autumn  following,  but  no  record  of  these  meet- 
ings has  been  preserved.     After  a  few  sessions  they  were 


188  SECOND   DECADE. 

discontinued,  but  in  1797  the  meeting  was  unanimously 
reestablished.  It  was  not  regular  in  its  sessions  till  1799, 
when  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  June  agreed  to  hold  an 
"  Elders'  Conference "  at  Rev.  John  Buzzell's  in  Sep- 
tember. This  was  a  profitable  meeting,  and  was  perma- 
nently established  at  his  house  in  Parsonsfield,  on  Friday 
folloAving  the  November  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting. 
Buzzell  says,  "  This  meeting  was  for  the  purpose  of  delib- 
erating on  the  affairs  of  the  connection,  and  more  especially 
for  the  examination  of  public  gifts,  and  giving  and  receiv- 
ing such  instruction  as  relates  to  public  improvement, 
both  in  preaching  the  word  and  disciplining  the  churches." 
It  was  the  design  to  make  this  a  general  meeting^  and  that 
both  ordained  and  unordained  preachers  should  all  attend 
it ;  but,  so  tiseful  did  it  prove,  that  a  similar  meeting  was 
soon  established  in  connection  with  each  session  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting  and  of  all  the  Quarterly  Meetings. 

Anticipating  future  dates,  it  may  here  be  observed  that 
one  was  established  in  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing in  1801,  and  its  transactions  were  recorded  and  thus 
preserved.  Here  young  men  were  instructed  and  trained 
in  things  pertaining  to  the  ministry.  The  record  says, 
"  The  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  view  of  there 
being  so  many  public  speakers  belonging  thereto,  most  of 
them  young  and  inexperienced,  think  it  expedient  that 
there  should  be  an  Elders'  Conference."  The  first  session 
convened  at  Gilford,  August  21st,  and  continued  two 
days.  In  answer  to  the  question,  "  Who  is  entitled  to  a 
seat  in  this  Conference  ?"  it  was  voted,  "  All  teaching 
elders,  all  ruling  elders,  all  deacons,^  and  all  those  who 
are  public  speakers, — who  appoint  and  take  the  govern- 
ment of  a  meeting  ;  and  the  most  perfect  order  is  to  he  oh- 
served."  The  number  present  was  fifty-three — eight  min- 
isters, fifteen  ruling  elders,  ten  deacons,  and  twenty  unor- 
dained preachers  and  exhorters,  three  of  the  latter  being 
females.  They  were  seated  in  the  order  above  named, 
3  Deacons  were  then  ordained  officers  in  the  church. 


ELDEKS'    CONFERENCE.  189 

ministers  occupying  the  front  seats,  ruling  elders  the  sec- 
ond range,  deacons  the  third,  and  in  the  rear  sat  the  unor- 
dained  speakers. 

The  first  action  of  this  Conference  was  to  consider 
"  many  things  which  are  not  expedient,  but  very  unbe- 
coming, such  as  vain  words,  lightness,  loud  laughter," 
&c.,  &c.  Some  were  personally  reproved,  and  confessed 
their  improprieties  ;  and  the  record  says,  "  We  found  it 
a  most  excellent  and  instructive  school."  At  the  next 
session  it  was  agreed  that  this  Conference  should  not  be  a 
public  meeting,  as  publicity  would,  in  a  great  measure, 
defeat  its  design.  Eight  young  men  were  then  licensed  to 
preach  ;  and  the  possibility  of  a  Christian's  falling  from 
grace,  and  being  finally  lost,  was  freely  discussed.  Four 
of  the  young  ministers  acknowledged  that  they  had  been 
greatly  enlightened  by  the  discussion,  and  all  but  one, 
Simon  Pottle,  in  a  Conference  of  fifty-one,  were  agreed  in 
believing  the  doctrine.  The  record  of  one  of  the  sessions 
in  1802,  says,  "  Then  there  proceeded  a  great  deal  of 
very  needful  and  edifying  conversation  with  regard  to 
doctrine,  and  the  danger  of  high-mindedness,  haughtiness, 
self-importance,  the  necessity  of  meekness,  sobriety,  a 
grave  and  well-ordered  life  and  conversation  ;  and  also 
that  those  who  are  preachers  should  endeavor  to  avoid  all 
harsh  and  coarse  expressions,  odd  gestures,  and  should  let 
their  moderation  be  known  to  all  men." 

The  influence  of  these  meetings  was  highly  beneficial, 
and  they  furnished  quite  an  opportunity  fo^  improvement ; 
occurring,  as  they  did,  four  times  a  year,  and  continuing, 
as  they  did,  from  one  to  two  days,  including  much  of  the 
intervening  night.  The  lectures,  as  we  may  popularly 
call  them,  of  those  wise,  some  of  them  learned,  and  all  of 
them  experienced  men,  must  have  been  interesting,  in- 
structive and  useful.  Without  this  Conference,  the  minis- 
try must  have  been  more  illy  prepared  for  and  less  success- 
ful in  their  work.  It  was  indeed  "  a  most  excellent  and 
instructive  school." 


150  SECOND   DECADE, 

Woman  was  sometimes  called  to  fill  very  important 
places  in  the  Jewish  church,  and  some  of  Christ's  highest 
commendations  have  been  tributes  to  her  memory.  She 
was  "  last  at  the  cross,  and  first  at  the  sepulchre,"  show- 
ing her  strong  affection  for  Him  whose  gospel  was  to  raise 
her  from  heathen  servility,  and  give  to  her,  as  well  as  to 
man,  the  privilege  of  being  a  co-worker  with  God.  The 
apostles  found  many  women  to  be  "  helpers  in  Christ 
Jesus,"  and  in  every  age  of  the  church  they  have  render- 
ed essential  service.  This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the 
question  of  woman's  appropriate  sphere  of  action,  but  to 
record  the  facts  of  her  successful  labors. 

The  early  history  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  would  be 
wanting  in  truthfulness,  did  it  pass  unnoticed  those  few 
women  who  labored  in  the  cause  with  a  spirit  not  akin  to 
much  of  the  retiring  modesty  of  our  day — ^that  modesty 
which  excuses  persons  from  effort  and  responsibility  in 
personal  labor  and  social  meetings,  because  they  are 
women.  It  has,  from  the  first,  been  proclaimed  as  woman's 
right  and  duty  to  act  and  speak  for  her  Saviour  ;  and  this 
she  has  been  encouraged  to  do  in  promiscuous  meetings, 
as  well  as  in  those  of  her  own  sex  exclusively. 

If  the  church  neglected  to  report  itself  to  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  or  sustain  its  meetings,  and  brethren  were  "  at 
ease  in  Zion,"  sisters,  impressed  with  the  obligations  of 
their  church  relations,  sometimes  stepped  forward  and 
assumed  duties  that  should  have  been  performed  by  oth- 
ers. The  branch,  or  church,  at  New  Castle,  N.  H.,  re- 
ported by  letter  for  the  first  time  in  1787,  over  the  signa- 
ture of  Abigail  Amazeen.  The  branch  at  Lewiston  was 
more  than  once  reported  by  Eliza  Grafham,  or  Hannah 
Thorn.  Mrs.  Thorn,  the  mother  of  Eev.  Benjamin 
Thorn,  was  a  very  energetic  and  godly  woman.  Such 
was  her  interest  in  the  cause,  and  her  desire  to  attend 
Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings,  that  several  times  she 
performed  the  journey  from  Lewiston  to  Westport,  a  dis- 
tance of  thirty-five  miles,  on  foot.     Taking  her  breakfast 


8ALLT   PARSONS.  191 

at  home,  she  would  walk  to  "Westport,  and  attend  meeting 
there  the  same  evening. 

Mary  Savage,  of  Woolwich,  to  whom  allusion  has  already 
been  made,  is  the  first  name  on  the  records  as  a  female  la- 
borer in  the  gospel.  She  went  to  New  Durham  in  1791, 
and  spent  nearly  a  year  there  and  in  towns  adjacent,  doing 
what  she  could.  The  melting  power  of  her  exhortations 
was  often  irresistible,  and  so  great  was  the  effect  with 
which  she  sometimes  spoke  at  the  Quarterly  or  Yearly 
Meeting,  that  a  note  of  the  fact  was  entered  upon  the  book 
of  records.  Her  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  her 
great  spiritual  discernment,  enabled  her  to  labor  with 
marked  success,  in  reconciling  Christians  who  were  at 
variance. 

It  was  during  a  general  revival  in  Westport,  about 
the  year  1792,  that  Sally  Parsons  ^  experienced  religion. 
Her  father,  when  he  learned  the  fact,  was  so  unreconciled 
to  the  idea  of  his  daughter's  being  a  despised  Baptist,  that 
he  at  once  disowned  her  as  his  child,  and  required  her  to 
leave  the  house.  In  obedience  to  this  stern  requirement, 
she  immediately  left,  and,  crossing  the  threshold,  feU  upon 
her  knees  at  the  door,  and  earnestly  prayed  the  Lord  to 
forgive  her  dear  father,  and  bless  her  mother,  brothers 
and  sisters,  who  were  aU.  in  tears  and  sobbing  with  grief. 
The  mother  forwarded  her  clothing  and  other  articles  she 
might  need,  to  a  neighbor's  house,  which  the  Lord  had 
opened  as  her  temporary  home,  requesting  her  return  as 
often  as  her  father's  absence  would  allow.  The  daughter 
was  gone,  but  the  influence  of  her  meek  and  faithful  pray- 
ers could  not  be  expelled.  Under  the  controlling  hand  of 
a  wonder-working  God,  other  members  of  the  family  were 
led  to  Christ,  till  the  father,  instead  of  seeing  one,  finally 
saw  all  brought  to  Jesus'  feet.  After  a  few  years,  his 
own  heart  began  to  relent,  a  spirit  of  penitence  gradually 
appeared,  and  the  daughter  was  invited  home,  just  before 
her  marriage  with  a  son  of  Randall,  and  was  liberally 
•*  She  was  a  sister  of  Stephen  and  Jotham  Parsons. 


192  SECOND   DECADE. 

provided  with  all  necessary  things  for  her  bridal  day. 
What  an  illustration  is  this  of  that  Scripture  which  says, 
"  Surely  the  wrath  of  man  shall  praise  thee  ;  the  remain- 
der of  wrath  shalt  thou  restrain." 

How  much  this  parental  severity  had  to  do  with  her 
convictions  of  duty  to  travel  and  tell  the  simple  story  of 
Jesus'  love,  and  the  kindness  of  her  heavenly  Father,  we 
do  not  know ;  but  suffice  it  to  say,  for  several  years  she 
travelled  considerably,  and  was  very  useful  in  the  feeble 
churches.  In  1797,  a  contribution  was  taken  at  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  New  Durham,  and  a  horse,  saddle  and 
bridle  were  purchased  for  her  use,  so  long  as  she  should 
see  her  way  clear  to  travel  and  labor  in  the  cause,  by  ex- 
liortation,  prayer  and  personal  effort.  When  she  mar- 
ried Benjamin  Walton  Randall  of  New  Durham,  four 
years  afterwards,  the  Yearly  Meeting  relinquished  all  claim 
to  this  property. 

A  committee  from  the  Yearly  Meeting,  with  Randall 
as  Chairman,  visited  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting 
in  September,  1796,  and  found  the  church  in  Phillips 
divided  in  opinion  as  to  "  women  speaking  in  public  ex- 
hortation and  prayer  ;  some  having  doubts  whether  it  is 
right."  The  committee  soon  satisfied  all  present  of  its 
Scriptural  propriety,  and  this  decision  was  placed  on  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  records. 

There  has  ever  been  a  difierence  of  opinion,  as  to  the 
particular  exceptions  to  the  rule  that  men  only  are  called 
to  preach  the  gospel.  A  few  Avomen  have  felt  themselves 
called  to  this  work  in  different  periods  of  our  early  history, 
and,  while  some  in  the  denomination  could  give  them  no 
encouragement,  they  desired  not  to  stand  between  them 
and  the  full  obedience  to  their  honest  convictions  of  duty. 
Others  have  thought  that  women  were  truly  called  of  God 
to  the  work.  This  number  has  greatly  diminished  in  later 
years,  so  that  now  it  doubtless  constitutes  a  small  minority. 

Church  Covenants  were  invariably  used  for  the  first 
twelve  years.     During  this  time  the  New  Durham  church 


CHURCH  POLITY.  193 

was  organized  and  reorganized  with  a  written  covenant 
each  time.  The  two  churches  in  Strafford  and  the  one  in 
"Wolf  borough,  N.  H.,  and  the  churches  in  Gorham,  Dur- 
ham, Gray  and  New  Gloucester,  and  Raymond,  Me.,  were 
all  organized  before  the  close  of  1792,  and  were  aU  known 
to  have  had  written  covenants.  It  is  true  that  no  allusion 
to  covenants  is  found  in  some  churches  whose  records  are 
lost,  and  the  knowledge  of  whose  organization  has  been 
otherwise  preserved ;  but  whenever  an  allusion  is  made, 
it  is  invariably  in  favor  of  their  use.  They  were  approved 
by  Randall,  and  introduced  by  him  at  home  and  abroad. 
It  was  reserved  for  other  men  in  later  years  to  first  ques- 
tion their  utility,  and  oppose  their  continuance.^  A  step 
in  that  direction  was  taken  in  1791,  when  a  few  converts 
in  Middleton,  N.  H.,  with  John  Buzzell  as  their  preacher 
(neither  he  nor  they  having  been  baptized),  "  entered  into 
a  solemn,  verlal  agreement,  to  consider  themselves  a 
church  of  Christ."  A  few  years  after  this,  covenants 
were  not  so  generally  u.sed  in  the  organization  of  church- 
es, and  were  discontinued  in  some  which  had  previously 
used  them,  as  was  the  case  in  New  Durham.  The  influ.- 
ence  of  Elias  Smith's  loose  notions  of  church  order,  is 
believed  to  have  hastened  their  disuse,  which  was  never 
universal,  though  for  a  time  it  was  quite  general.  Their 
use  was  again  revived,  and,  after  the  first  half  century,  be- 
came nearly  universal. 

The  Polity  of  the  church  underwent  but  few  changes  in 
this  decade.  At  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  1796,  it  was 
agreed  that  "  Elders  in  fellowship  with  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing, when  sent  out  to  preach  and  baptize,  may  receive 
such  as  desire  it  [admission],  they  having  fellowship  with 
them  ;  and  that  such  members,  by  virtue  of  their  being 
baptized,  should  be  considered  members  of  our  community 
in  visible  standing." 

5  See  this  subject  discussed  in  the  Morning  Star,  Vol.  XXI.,  Nos.  22 
—30,  by  Rev.  A.  K.  Moulton. 

17 


194  SECOND   DECADE. 

Near  the  close  of  this  decade,  the  demand  for  the  ad- 
rainistration  of  the  ordinances  was  greater  than  the  minis- 
try could  readily  meet,  and  both  deacons  and  ruling  elders 
who  had  been  ordained,  were  encouraged  to  baptize  ;  and 
some  of  them  did  so  in  the  absence  of  a  minister. 

The  Dismission  of  members  to  other  denominations  was 
at  first  declined,  under  the  following  circumstances  :  Sam- 
uel York,  of  Durham,  Me.,  requested  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  in  1791,  a  letter  of  dismission  and  commendation 
to  the  Calvinistic  Baptist  church  with  which  he  could  be 
better  convened,  and  with  whose  doctrinal  views  he  more 
fully  agreed.  The  answer,  signed  by  Randall  and  Tingley 
as  officers  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  was  this  : 

'"'■  Dear  Friend : — "We  have  had  thy  case  under  consid- 
eration, and  have  no  desire  to  imprison  thee,  nor  can 
we  cause  any  one  to  believe  the  truth  without  sufficient 
evidence.  As  to  thy  moral  conduct,  we  have  nothing  to 
charge  thee  with  ;  but  to  give  thee  a  dismission  to  a  peo- 
ple who  hold  doctrines  that  we  believe  to  be  contrary  to 
the  Scriptures  of  truth,  would  be  acting  inconsistently  j 
and  we  are  bound  in  love  to  pray  thee  to  be  very  cautious 
and  act  as  thou  canst  answer  in  the  great  day  of  ac- 
counts. K  thou  goest  off  from  us,  remember  that  thou 
must  answer  for  thyself,  and  not  we.     Farewell." 

The  same  view  of  the  subject  was  taken  the  next  year, 
on  the  request  of  Kenelm  Winslow,  even  after  he  had 
removed  the  trials  occasioned  by  making  his  request  in 
an  unkind  spirit.  In  1795  the  Gray  and  New  Gloucester 
church  gave  members  letters  of  dismission  and  commenda- 
tion to  "  a  predestinarian  church,"  and  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing thought  such  a  course  was  "  inconsistent."  A  more 
liberal  policy  was  now  advocated  by  some,  the  question 
was  considered  in  the  light  of  Christian  liberty,  and  a 
change  soon  came  over  the  denomination  in  this  respect. 
In  1797  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  asked,  "  If  a 


SUPPORT   OF   THE   POOR.  195 

member  leave  our  community  and  join  with  another 
denomination,  is  that  a  transgression  sufficient  for  which 
to  cut  him  off?"  The  answer  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  was, 
*'  If  the  member's  moral  conduct  is  good,  we  ought  to 
give  liberty  of  conscience."  This  answer  was  not  satis- 
factory to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  the  next  year  it 
asked  for  the  Scripture  proof.  Stinchfield  was  instructed 
to  write  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  defence  of  this  "  liberty 
of  conscience,"  and  the  Yearly  Meeting  was  unanimous  in 
its  approval  of  the  letter,  save  the  delegates  from  Farming- 
ton.  A  trial  ensued  in  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  principally 
through  the  influence  of  Edward  Lock,  whose  narrow 
views  led  him  to  oppose  the  denomination  on  the  questions 
of  free  communion,  and  the  dismission  of  members.  A 
majority  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  right  on  the  com- 
munion question,  but  in  sympathy  with  Lock  on  the  dis- 
mission of  members  to  other  denominations.  Committees 
were  sent  to  their  assistance,  who  enlightened  many,  and 
when  the  question  came  up  in  Quarterly  Meeting  to  con- 
cur with  the  Yearly  Meeting,  the  discussion  was  "  long 
and  tedious."  The  yeas  and  nays  being  taken,  the  affirm- 
ative, headed  by  Rev.  Francis  Tufts,  numbered  fifteen, 
and  the  negative,  headed  by  Rev.  Edward  Lock,  numbered 
only  seven.  This  was  probably  the  final  agitation  of  the 
question. 

"  The  Poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them  "  under 
the  Christian  dispensation,  and  as  -to  the  supply  of  their 
temporal  wants,  Christ  says,  "  Whensoever  ye  will,  ye 
may  do  them  good."  Contributions  were  raised  for  the 
"  poor  saints "  by  the  apostles,  and  the  early  Freewill 
Baptists  often  did  the  same.  The  New  Durham  church 
made  permanent  arrangements  for  the  support  of  an  aged 
and  infirm  sister,  by  paying  "  half  a  dollar  a  week  for 
her  board."  The  church  in  Pittsfield  supported  one  of 
its  members  for  years,  by  a  few  individuals  boarding  him 
in  turn.  In  1812,  "  it  appeared  to  be  the  minds  of  the 
brethren  in  general,"  says  the  church  record,    "  after  con-. 


196  SECOND   DECADE. 

sidering  the  great  and  good  alteration  there  is  in  the  laws 
of  the  land,  and  the  good  provision  there  is  made  for  all 
the  poor  of  the  town,  who  are  weU  used,  that  we  need  not 
take  it  upon  us  to  make  a  separate  provision  for  them. 
We  conclude  to  inform  the  town  of  the  alteration  in  our 
minds,  and  let  it  help  support  brother  Bickford,  if  it  does 
not  too  much  hurt  the  feelings  of  old  brother  Knowlton." 
The  mind  of  that  good  old  man  was  not  altered,  but  he 
left  it  with  his  brethren  to  do  as  they  should  think  best, 
saying,  when  consulted,  "  it  will  be  no  trial  to  me." 

Obadiah  "Worth  was  "  a  very  poor,  distressed  and 
helpless  cripple,"  entirely  dependent  upon  the  charities  of 
his  brethren.  He  had  found  a  temporary  home  beneath 
the  hospitable  roof  of  Dea.  Head,  of  Tamworth,  N.  H.  ; 
but  he  had  been,  not  only  warned  out  of  town,  but  offi- 
cially removed,  lest  he  might  become  a  public  charge. 
In  his  orphanage  and  poverty  he  had  returned,  and  was 
liable  to  a  second  expulsion  and  the  infliction  of  twenty 
lashes,  which  punishment  was  threatened.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  Quarterly  Meeting  interceded  for  him 
in  1802,  and  addressed  a  letter  to  David  Oilman,  Esq., 
whose  authority  would  execute  the  sentence,  if  compas- 
sion for  the  innocent  man  did  not  interpose.  Thirty  dol- 
lars of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  stock  were  appropriated  for 
the  payment  of  his  board,  but,  objections  being  made,  the 
vote  was  reconsidered,  and  a  contribution  of  $21,33  was 
then  taken,  $7,00  at  the  next  Quarterly  Meeting,  $13,34 
were  taken  at  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  thus  was  he  sus- 
tained for  several  years. 

One  of  the  town  paupers  in  Farmington,  Me.,  was  a 
member  of  the  church,  and  the  question  of  his  support 
being  agitated,  was  brought  into  the  Yearly  Meeting  in 
1806,  where  the  decision  was  unanimous,  save  the  two 
delegates  from  Farmington,  that  "  he  ought  to  be  taken 
from  the  town  and  maintained  by  the  church."  The  church 
stock  often  consisted  of  not  only  money,  but  provisions 
and  clothing  for  the  poor. 


REGULATING   COMMITTEE.  197 

The  Regulating  Committee  performed  an  important  work 
during  tlie  latter  part  of  this  decade.  At  every  session  of 
the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  at  most  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ings, committees  "were  sent  out  to  heal  divisions  and  cor- 
rect improprieties.  In  1796  the  Yearly  Meeting  at  New 
Durham  took  the  state  of  religion  into  consideration,  and 
especially  "  the  necessity  of  setting  the  gifts  in  order." 
The  subject  occupied  the  attention  of  Conference  a  part  of 
two  days,  and,  "  after  profitable  conversation,  with  strong 
cries  and  supplication  to  the  God  of  all  grace  for  wisdom 
to  direct  in  efibrts  for  the  advancement  of  his  cause,  and 
the  salvation  of  precious  souls,  it  was  unanimously  agreed 
that  there  be  a  committee  appointed,  having  the  approba- 
tion of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  to  examine  the  state  of  the 
several  branches  in  the  connection,  and  to  set  the  various 
gifts  in  their  appropriate  places."  The  committee,  as 
first  constituted,  were  Revs.  John  Buzzell,  of  Middleton, 
N.  H,,  and  Zachariah  Leach,  of  Raymond,  Me.,  and 
ruling  elders  John  Shepherd,  of  Gilmanton,  N.  H.,  and 
Samuel  Hinckley,  of  Georgetown,  Me.^  In  September 
the  committee  was  increased  to  eight  in  number,  by  the 
addition  of  Revs.  Edward  Lock  and  Joseph  Hutchinson, 
and  ruling  elder  John  F,  Woods,  and  Daniel  Dunton,  all 
of  Maine.     The  following  is  a  copy  of  their  certificate  : 

"  This  certifies,  whom  it  may  concern,  that  Elders 
John  Buzzell,  Zachariah  Leach,  Edward  Lock,  Joseph 
Hutchinson,  John  Shepherd,  Samuel  Hinkley,  John  F. 
Woods,  and  brother  Daniel  Dunton,  are,  by  this  meeting 
appointed,  and  have  the  approbation  of  the  same,  to  ex- 
amine and  set  in  order  the  difierent  gifts  throughout  our 
community.  Any  two  of  them,  with  the  addition  of  such 
counsel   as   they   may   think   needful,   may   constitute  a 

®  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice,  that  almost  all  committees  raised  in 
Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings  Avere  composed  about  equally  of  minis- 
ters and  laymen.  Even  deacons  or  ruling  elders  were  usually  members 
of  an  Ordaining  Council. 

17* 


198  SECOND   DECADE. 

quorum  to  do  any  business  with  any  branch  of  our  con- 
nection they  may  be  called  upon  from  time  to  time  to 
transact :  And  shall  make  a  report  of  their  proceedings 
to  this  meeting.  Benjamin  Randall,  Moderator. 

John  Buzzell,   Clerk. 
"  Edgecomb,  September  7th,  1796." 

This  was  an  important  committee,  and  it  was  clothed 
with  almost  unlimited  power  ;  but  they  seem  to  have 
never  abused  their  trust.  They  entered  at  once  upon 
their  work,  and  other  ministers  were  usually  called  to 
their  aid  ;  the  reports  show  that  Randall  was  often  associ- 
ated with  them.  They  sought  out  young  men,  who  were 
trembling  in  view  of  their  call  to  the  ministry,  and  en- 
couraged them  forward.  In  churches  that  were  destitute 
of  pastoral  labor,  they  ordained  ruling  elders,  and  "  from 
that  time  the  churches  began  to  be  more  regular  in  all 
their  proceedings,  and  the  cause  began  to  j&ourish  in  all 
parts  of  the  connection."  '^  The  committee  continued 
their  services  for  about  three  years,  and,  having  accom- 
plished the  main  work  assigned  them,  were  discharged 
in  1799.  Thus  early  did  the  Yearly  Meeting  resign  its 
supervision  over  the  churches,  lest  this  wise  arrangement 
for  good  might  result  in  evil. 

Lawsuits.  It  is  a  sad  alternative  that  compels  any 
man  to  appeal  to  the  civil  tribunal  for  the  possession  or 
security  of  his  rights,  but  when  "  brother  goeth  to  law 
with  brother,  and  that  before  the  unbelievers,"  it  shows  a 
deplorable  want  of  Christian  spirit  and  principle.  The 
early  fathers  regarded  this  subject  in  its  true  light,  and 
discountenanced  all  resorts  to  legal  means  for  securing 
moral  rights.  The  people  in  Georgetown,  Me.,  were 
taxed  for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  and,  because  the 
committee  having  the  money  in  charge,  appropriated  it 
exclusively  to  the  Congregationalists,  they  were  prosecut- 
ed.    Some  in  the  church  doubted  the  propriety  of  carrying 

7  Religious  Magazine,  Vol.  I.,  p.  148. 


LAWSUITS — MILITIA.  199 

on  the  prosecution,  and  the  opinion  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing was  sought.  It  advised  the  church  to  say  before  the 
world,  "  If  they  will  venture  the  curse  of  keeping  the 
money,  we  wiU  resign  it,  and  take  the  blessing  of  oppres- 
sion for  Christ's  sake." 

The  position  of  the  New  Durham  church  on  this 
question  has  already  been  stated  in  the  account  of  its 
reorganization.  At  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Gorham  in 
1791,  it  was  ascertained  that  two  members  were  about  to 
engage  in  a  legal  controversy,  and  the  following  letter  was 
addressed  to  the  plaintiff  : 

"  Dear  Friend : — We  are  grieved  to  hear  of  the  unhap- 
py difficulty  subsisting  between  brother  John  "Woodman 
and  thee.  Our  souls  mourn,  our  hearts  are  pierced,  that 
two  of  our  professed  brethren  should  be  at  such  odds  as  to 
go  to  latv,  or  threaten  so  to  do,  and  not  have  matters  of 
controversy  settled  by  the  brotherhood.  And  since  friend 
Woodman  declares  his  Avillingness  and  desire  for  peace, 
we  cannot  but  believe  that  thou,  dear  friend,  wilt  comply 
with  the  same  ;  in  doing  which  thou  mayst  save  much  of 
the  Lord's  money,  and  keep  from  more  deeply  wounding 
the  cause  of  our  most  lovely  Friend,  who  has  paid  our  ten 
thousand  talents.  O  how  are  our  hearts  ready  to  break, 
in  view  of  the  stumbling  blocks  cast  in  the  way  of  poor 
Christless  souls. 

"  To ,  New  Gloucester." 

Like  prudent  men,  they  foresaAv  the  evils  of  litigation, 
and  thus  sought  to  hide  their  disaffected  brethren  from  the 
reproach  of  dishonoring  religion,  and  wasting  "  the  Lord's 
money." 

The  Militia  were  required  to  be  enrolled,  inspected  and 
drilled  ;  and  thus  was  the  spirit  of  war  kept  alive,  though 
no  occasion  for  fighting  was  claimed  to  exist.  Many 
Christian  men,  though  loyal  subjects  in  every  other  re- 
spect, refused  to  bear  arms  from  conscientious  scruples. 
They  would  neither  fight,  nor  learn  the  art  of  fighting  ; 


200  SECOND   DECADE. 

and  tlie  calling  out  of  the  militia — those  "  trainings"  and 
"  musters"  of  annual  occurrence — were  regarded  by  most 
of  the  Freewill  Baptists  as  a  public  nuisance.  The  pro- 
priety of  yielding  obedience  to  this  legal  requirement  came 
before  the  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meeting,  not  as  a  politi- 
cal question,  but  as  a  moral  one  ;  and  in  1791  it  was 
"  Concluded  unanimously  that  it  is  not  consistent  for  the 
soldiers  of  Christ  to  use  carnal  weapons."  It  was  also 
voted  to  "  petition  the  authorities"  for  release  from  mili- 
tary duty,  and  efforts  to  this  end  were  repeatedly  made. 
For  many  years  this  subject  was  occasionally  under  dis- 
cussion, and  military  operations  Avere  always  disapproved, 
generally  with  great  unanimity.  It  Avas  even  voted  that 
"  no  Christian  can  consistently  take  a  commission." 

Rules  of  Order  are  needful  in  deliberative  assemblies, 
and  good  men,  even,  have  found  it  necessary  to  subject 
themselves  to  the  salutary  influence  of  wholesome  re- 
straints. In  1793  the  Yearly  Meeting  "Voted  to  estab- 
lish it  as  a  standing  rule  in  this  meeting,  after  it  is  opened 
for  business  or  worship,  that  it  shall  be  esteemed  a  trans- 
gression for  any  to  whisper  or  talk  ;  or,  if  any,  even  the 
greatest  stranger,  come  in,  to  salute  him." 

At  the  next  Yearly  Meeting  it  was  agreed  to  choose  a 
committee  on  business,  at  the  opening  of  each  session,  to 
whom  aU  qviestions  for  the  action  of  the  meeting  should 
first  be  submitted.  This  committee  were  to  mature  and 
introduce  the  business  so  as  to  facilitate  its  performance, 
and  afford  more  time  for  attendance  upon  the  meetings  of 
worship.  This  rule  was  afterwards  adopted  by  several  of 
the  Quarterly  Meetings. 

The  churches  were,  at  first,  required  to  have  their  rec- 
ords read  in  every  Quarterly  Meeting  ;  and,  in*1797,  it 
was  "  Voted  that  the  minutes  of  each  Quarterly  Meeting, 
in  future,  be  brought  to  and  read  in  each  Yearly  Meeting." 
It  was  thus  that  the  Yearly  Meeting  sought  to  keep  itself 
informed  of  the  condition  of  the  churches,  and  the  action 
of  the  Quarterly  Meetings,   that  its  counsels  and  final 


A   DEVOTIONAL   SPIRIT.  201 

decisions  might  be  understandingly  given.  And,  in  the 
absence  of  a  denominational  organ,  for  publishing  the  pro- 
ceedings of  these  bodies,  the  action  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing was  to  be  reported  back  to  the  churches  by  delegates, 
and  the  minutes  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  or  a  copy  of  them, 
were  sent  to  the  several  Quarterly  Meetings  whenever  it 
could  be  done. 

The  Press,  so  far  as  we  now  know,  was  not  made  avail- 
able by  the  fathers  in  this  decade,  for  the  advancement  of 
truth,  save  in  a  single  instance.  In  1793  they  republish- 
ed, and  extensively  circulated,  a  sermon  by  Jeremiah 
Walker,  entitled,  "  The  Fourfold  State  of  Calvinism  Ex- 
amined and  Shaken." 

The  Devotional  Sipirit  of  the  fathers,  is  one  of  the  first 
characteristics  observed  in  studying  their  lives.  They 
could  not  speak  of  Jesus  but  in  terms  of  ecstasy,  and  their 
multiplication  of  extolling  adjectives,  only  shows  that  lan- 
guage was  too  feeble  to  express  the  joys  they  experienced. 
He  was  all  in  all  to  them.  His  promises  were  the  Alpha 
and  Omega  of  their  hopes  ;  his  presence,  the  burden  of 
their  prayers  ;  and  his  love,  as  experience  alone  can  pre- 
sent it,  the  moving  power  in  their  appeals  to  sinners. 
Their  trust  in  Christ  for  salvation  was  implicit ;  and  their 
reliance  on  him  for  strength  in  the  successful  discharge  of 
duty,  was  entire.  There  were  heartless  men  among  them, 
but  as  a  class,  their  walk  was  close  with  God.  And  yet 
they  were  often  charged  with  the  belief  that  they  could 
save  themselves.  Never  was  a  charge  more  false  and 
slanderous.  Because  they  taught  that  man  had  the  same 
power  of  choice  in  accepting  or  rejecting  the  gracious  pro- 
visions of  the  gospel,  as  he  has  with  reference  to  any  other 
proffered  gift,  it  was  an  illogical  conclusion  that  charged 
them  with  the  belief  that  man  could  save  himself.  No 
people  ever  taught  more  clearly  that  it  was  the  grace  of 
God  alone  that  provided  salvation,  and  without  a  continu- 
ance of  that  grace,  man  could  do  nothing  effectually  in 
securing  it. 


202  SECOND   DECADE, 

They  were  reproached  by  the  world,  and  built  not  their 
hopes  upon  its  promised  blessings.  Their  expectations 
were  from  God,  They  lived  by  faith  ;  and  it  was  living. 
They  did  not  profess  religion,  so  much  as  they  enjoyed  it. 
They  prayed,  and  they  believed.  They  asked,  and  they 
received.  And  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came,  he  was  re- 
ceived, not  with  fastidious  restraints,  but  with  open  hearts 
and  strong  emotions.  If  their  feelings  did  run  free  and 
high,  and  the  manifestations  of  them  were  oftentimes  im- 
pulsive, and  sometimes  apparently  extravagant,  the  ardor 
of  their  love,  and  the  zeal  of  their  experimental  knowl- 
edge, enabled  them  to  reach  thousands  of  hearts  that  would 
have  been  unaffected  by  the  cool  and  merely  intellectual 
communication  of  the  same  truths.  Fanaticism  is  an  evil, 
ever  to  be  deplored  ;  but  a  studied  formality,  or  a  luke- 
warm interest,  is  equally  destructive  to  the  life  and  power 
of  religion.  Either  formality  or  lukewarmness  is  more 
dangerous  to  reflective  minds,  because  more  likely  to  take 
possession  of  the  soul.  The  aU-prevailing  desire  of  the 
first  Freewill  Baptists  to  worship  God  "in  spirit  and  in 
truth" — ^the  only  acceptable  mode  of  worship — led  them 
to  place  no  very  high  estimate  upon  forms  and  external 
services.  They  went  not,  however,  to  the  extent  of  some 
of  their  successors,  whose  rejection  of  all  system  has  been 
most  unfortunate  in  its  influence.  Randall's  personal  ap- 
pearance, his  correctness  in  keeping  all  the  early  records, 
and  his  tenacity  for  prompt  and  wholesome  discipline, 
show  that  he  was  emphatically  a  man  of  order.  If  he  did 
not  fully  endorse  the  sentiment  that 

"  Order  is  Heaven's_/??-s^  law," 

he  evidently  believed  that  it  held  a  very  prominent  place 
in  the  work  of  God,  and  should  in  his  church.  A  regular 
order  of  exercises  in  Divine  worship  was  usually  observed, 
but  it  was  not  stereotyped ;  and  it  seems  to  have  been 
their  purpose  to  conform;  in  all  things,  to  the  indications 
of  the  Spirit,  rather  than  the  rules  of  custom.  Religious 
meetings  were  then  less  frequent  than  now,  and  worship- 


A   DEVOTIONAL   SPTRIT.  203 

pers  often  attended  with  great  inconvenience  ;  hence,  they 
made  the  most  of  the  occasion  when  it  was  enjoyed,  begin- 
ning early  and  closing  late,  often  following  the  sermon 
with  exhortations,  prayers,  and  songs  of  praise. 

And  they  were  careful,  also,  to  call  in  no  help  in  their 
devotions  that  would  strengthen  the  form,  rather  than  the 
spirit,  of  their  worship.  Hence,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in 
1789,  after  duly  considering  the  subject,  agreed  that  "  it 
is  not  right  to  give  the  lead  of  singing  in  public  worship 
to  those  who  are  unbelievers."  It  is  not  true  that  "  sing- 
ers are  always  sensitive,"  but  it  is  a  fact  that  great  Avisdom 
is  needed  in  the  arrangement  of  choir  singing,  so  as  to 
render  it  most  conducive  to  acceptable  worship. 

In  all  the  early  churches  of  New  England,  singing  had 
been  strictly  congregational,  and  the  music  exclusively 
A'-ocal.  When  the  reading  of  the  psalm  or  hymn  was  fin- 
ished, the  deacon,  to  supply  the  want  of  books,  rose  up  in 
front  of  the  pulpit  and  repeated  the  first  two  lines.  These 
were  immediately  sung  by  all  who  could,  and  by  some 
who  could  not,  unite  in  harmonious  praise.  Then  the  two 
following  lines  were  read  and  sung,  and  this  alternate 
reading  and  singing  continued  through  the  entire  hymn. 
But  choir  singing  was  coming  into  vogue  at  the  close  of 
the  last  century,  and  a  "  Singing  Society  "  in  New  Dur- 
ham, proposed,  with  an  air  of  authority,  to  do  the  singing, 
at  least  one-half  of  the  day,  unaided  by  others.  The  cor- 
respondence between  this  society  and  the  church  covers 
four  pages  of  the  i-ecords,  and  was  thus  concluded  on  the 
part  of  the  latter  :  "  As  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  who 
worship  him  must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  it 
is  nothing  but  his  Spirit  that  makes  the  union  in  worship 
pleasing  in  his  sight.  If  a  society  ever  so  large,  and  un- 
derstanding the  rules  of  singing  ever  so  well,  should  come 
together  without  that  Spirit,  it  could,  at  best,  only  please 
the  ears  of  men,  and  not  the  great  heart-searching  God. 
*     *     *     We  heartily  wish  you  well,  but  cannot  believe 


204  SECOND    DECADE. 

it  will  be  pleasing  to  God  that  his  worship  should  be  led 
by  any,  unless  they  are  believers  in  Christ." 

Special  seasons  of  fasting  and  prayer  were  occasionally 
observed,  and  they,  too,  show  the  strong  devotional  feel- 
ing of  the  fathers.  Those  special  fasts  in  view  of  Ran- 
dall's settlement  at  'New  Durham,  the  encroachments  of 
the  Shakers,  and  the  declension  in  the  New  Durham 
Quarterly  Meeting  in  1796,  and  in  the  Yearly  Meeting  in 
1797,  were  exceedingly  profitable,  because  spiritually  ob- 
served. And  those  interruptions  in  business  meetings  for 
seasons  of  devotion,  show  the  sympathy  of  the  heart  with 
God.  Even  on  their  way  to  meeting,  as  they  have  jour- 
neyed on  horseback  alone,  or  in  company,  the  spirit  of 
prayer  has  so  filled  their  hearts,  that,  for  miles  together, 
through  unsettled  tracts  of  country,  vocal  prayer  has  been 
ofiered  by  one  and  another.  These  travelling  prayer  meet- 
ings were  not  very  common,  but  it  was  their  usual  practice 
to  sing  the  praises  of  God,  more  or  less  of  the  way  to  and 
from  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings.  In  fact,  study  their 
character,  in  whatever  place,  relations  or  circumstances 
Ave  find  them,  the  impression  is  ahvays  received  that  they 
were  a  devout  people. 


1800.]  lock's  secession  205 


CHAPTER  X. 

MAINE. 

1800—1810. 

Lock's  Secession — ^Brunswick — Standish — Stinehfield's  Labors — Death 
of  Hutchinson — Stinehfield's  Illness — Revivals  in  Edgecomb  Quarter- 
ly Meeting — Act  of  Incorporation — Ordinations  in  1804 — ^Yearly  Meet- 
ing at  Gorham — ^Wilderness — Ordinations  in  1805 — Yearly  Meeting  at 
"Wilton — Secession  in  Knox — ^Revivals  in  Lincolnville — Georgetown — 
Saco — Standish — ^Woolwich — ^Raymond — Gray  and  New  Gloucester 
— Churches — Ordinations — ^Death. 

Allusion  was  made  %t  the  close  of  Chapter  VI.,  to  a 
trial  in  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  with  Eev.  Ed- 
ward Lock.  Being  left  with  a  small  minority  at  home  as 
well  as  abroad  in  his  illiberal  views  on  communion  and 
the  dismission  of  members,  he  agitated  those  questions  no 
longer,  but,  in  other  ways,  greatly  disconcerted  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting  in  its  progressive  measures.  By  request  of 
aggrieved  members,  John  Buzzell  and  Henry  Hobbs  at- 
tended the  January  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  at 
New  Portland,  and  the  still  controlling  influence  of  Lock 
gave  them  a  cold  reception.  But  they  opposed  his  selfish 
schemes,  defended  the  denomination,  and  attended  a  few 
meetings  at  Anson,  where  a  dozen  were  converted,  and  an 
extensive  revival  followed. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting  had  long  felt  the  need  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting's  influence  within  its  limits,  and,  under 
present  circumstances,  the  church  in  Parsonsfield  consented 
to  give  up  one  session,  so  the  February  term  in  1800  Avas 
held  at  Anson.  It  was  a  time  of  painful  interest.  Lock 
had  matured  "  a  plan  for  forming  a  community  of  Chris- 
18 


206  MAINE.  [1800. 

tians,  who  were  to  hare  all  things  common  ;  theii'  property 
to  be  thrown  into  one  common  stock,  with  himself  to  con- 
trol, if  not  to  possess,  the  whole."  ^  Obligations  to  this 
effect  had  been  signed  by  several,  also  articles  of  faith, 
"  contrary  to  the  order  of  the  Yearly  Meeting."  A  com- 
mittee of  seven,  with  Rev.  Joseph  Plutchinson  as  chair- 
man, labored  faithfully  with  him,  but  all  in  vain,  and 
suspension  was  the  only  alternative.  He  stood  in  this 
relation  for  half  a  dozen  years,  disfellowshipped  by  the 
denomination,  and  was  finally  disowned.  Says  one^  that 
knew  him  well,  "  Elder  Lock  was  possessed  of  more  than 
ordinary  mind  and  talent,  and  apparently  zealous  in  the 
cause  of  truth,  but  never,  perhaps,  did  he  possess  that  dis- 
interested devotedness  to  the  Redeemer  necessary  in  a 
minister  of  the  gospel.  He  partially  succeeded  in  draw- 
ing off  a  few,  but  when  his  plan  was  more  fuUy  under- 
stood, it  resulted  in  an  entire  failure,  the  loss  of  Christian 
confidence,  and  the  prostration  of  his  moral  character." 

The  Quarterly  Meeting  now  became  more  harmonious, 
and  at  the  September  Yearly  Meeting,  a  grateful  and  en- 
couraging report  was  received,  and  '^  a  number  of  heart- 
felt confessions  "  were  made  by  those  who  had  been  par- 
tially dra-wn  into  the  snare,  among  whom  Avere  Rev.  John 
Whitney,  and  ruling  elder  J.  F.  "Woods. 

Meetings  had  been  held  in  Brunswick  for  seven  years, 
by  Randall,  Tingley,  Whitney  and  Buzzell,  as  they  trav- 
elled that  way,  usually  at  the  house  of  William  Alexander. 
A  church  was  now  organized,  and  he  began  to  enlarge 
his  house  for  the  better  accommodation  of  the  meetings. 
This  suggested  the  idea  of  a  meeting  house  ;  and  a  small 
one  was  erected  the  next  year,  at  an  expense  of  $300. 

John  Buzzell  attended  a  series  of  meetings  in  Standish 
the  December  previous  ;  thirty-three  sermons  were  preach- 
ed, and  about  forty  converted.  At  his  next  visit  there, 
for  baptism,  a  deacon  of  the  Congregational  church  said 
to   him,    "  My  minister  thinks  hard  of  you  for  coming 

1  History  of  Farmington.  ^  Judge  Parker. 


1801.]  CHURCH   IN   STANDISH.  207 

into  his  parish  to  preach."  "  I  know  of  no  reason 
why  he  should,"  said  Buzzell,  "  for  I  wish  him  well,  and 
every  other  man."  "  I  do  not  know  how  your  commis- 
sion and  ordination  run,"  said  the  deacon.  "  They  run 
parallel  with  sin,"  was  the  reply  ;  "  and  my  commis- 
sion you  may  read  in  Mark  16  :  15,  '  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.'  "  A 
church  was  soon  organized  there  by  Stinchfield  ;  and  the 
branch  in  Lewiston  was  also  organized  as  a  church  about 
this  time. 

The  reports  at  the  November  Yearly  Meeting  were  all 
encouraging  ;  every  Quarterly  Meeting  was  enjoying  a 
revival  spirit,  and  in  Gorham  and  Farmington  the  good 
work  had  already  commenced.  The  difficulties  at  West- 
port  had  been  amicably  adjusted,  and,  at  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  in  Bristol,  Hibbard  made  "  a  very  solemn  con- 
fession of  his  backslidings  in  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
and  fainting  in  times  of  adversity."  This  relieved  his 
brethren  from  a  grievous  burden,  and  inspired  all  with 
new  life  and  interest.  The  church  in  Bristol  had  recently 
received  considerable  additions,  and  Christians  of  other 
denominations  united  heartily  in  the  worship. 

During  this  year  Stinchfield  travelled  several  times  to 
Kennebec  and  Sandy  rivers,  and  preached  in  several 
places  between  the  Kennebec  and  Penobscot,  "  where 
many  sinners  were  alai'med,  and  turned  to  the  Lord."  In 
Limington  he  was  invited  home  from  an  evening  meeting 
by  a  man  under  conviction,  whose  wife  and  daughter 
were  in  the  same  state  of  mind.  Soon  after  entering  the 
house,  he  felt  an  unusual  spirit  of  prayer,  and  proposed 
that  all  should  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  They  did 
so,  and,  before  rising  from  their  knees,  aU  were  rejoicing 
in  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  He  says,  "  In  the  course  of 
this  year  I  rode  between  two  and  three  thousand  miles, 
preached  about  two  hundred  times,  and  baptized  thirty- 
four,  besides  taking  care  of  my  family." 

Early  in  1801,  the  Gorham  and  Parsonsfield  Quarterly 


208  MAINE.  [1801. 

Meetings  united,  and  continued  so  till  1822,  wlien  they 
again  separated.  The  proceedings  were  recorded  in  the 
Parsonsfield  book  of  records,  which  is  now  lost,  and  with 
it  are  gone  many  of  the  facts  concerning  the  cause  in 
western  Maine.  The  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  com- 
menced the  year  with  a  good  religious  interest  in  many 
places,  especially  Camden  and  Thomaston  ;  and  a  commit- 
tee was  chosen  to  visit  all  the  churches,  and  awaken  them 
to  duty,  if  possible. 

Francis  Tufts  and  Moses  Dudley  reported  to  the  Far- 
mington  Quarterly  Meeting  that  they  had  made  a  tour  to 
the  Penobscot  valley,  and  found  its  inhabitants  "  a  har- 
dened people  ;"  but,  returning  through  Cornville,  "  they 
found  some  loving  brethren,  and  a  glorious  work  of  God 
in  progress."  They  baptized  nine,  and  organized  a  church, 
one  of  its  members  being  John  Trefethren,  the  confidential 
friend  and  fellow  laborer  of  Randall  in  establishing  and 
sustaining  those  prayer  meetings  in  New  Castle,  N.  H., 
twenty-five  years  before.  The  church  in  Belgrade  had  been 
in  a  low,  distracted  state,  and  a  portion  of  the  members 
noAv  resolved  to  come  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord.  A 
revival  followed,  and  an  addition  of  eleven  members. 

In  connection  with  his  attendance  at  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing, Eandall  spent  most  of  the  month  of  February  in  the 
Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  during  March  he  was 
in  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  visiting,  preaching, 
and  otherwise  aiding  the  cause  by  his  unfaltering  zeal  and 
judicious  counsel. 

An  event  transpired  early  in  this  season,  that  carried 
sadness  to  many  hearts.  It  touched  the  sympathies  of 
the  denomination  in  a  way  they  had  never  been  reach- 
ed before.  Nearly  twenty-two  years  had  now  passed 
since  Randall  stood  up  alone  before  a  public  meeting  in 
Gilmanton,  and  so  nobly  answered,  "why  he  did  not 
preach  the  doctrine  of  election  as  Calvin  held  it."  From 
that  day  he  went  forth  to  do  battle  for  the  Lord  in  defence 
of  the  free  principles  and  full  provisions  of  the  gospel. 


1801.]  DEATH   OF   HUTCHINSON.  209 

And  never  again  did  he  stand  alone.  Other  men,  strong 
and  spiritual,  rallied  around  him:  Churches  had  been 
organized,  tiU  more  than  sixty  beacon  lights  were  no-w 
shining  in  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont.  More 
than  fifty  watchmen,  a  majority  of  them  ordained  men, 
had  ascended  the  walls  of  Zion,  obedient  to  their  Master's 
call.  A  very  few  had  gone  down,  but  to  no  one  had  G-od 
thus  far  said,  "  Come  up  hither."  That  summons  was 
first  made  to  Eev.  Joseph  Hutchinson,  of  Hebron.  For 
thirteen  years  he  had  been  in  public  service,  and,  says 
Stinchfleld,  "  A  more  pious',  honest,  faithful  feUow-labor- 
er  I  never  knew."  The  following  incident  will  illustrate 
his  great  conscientiousness.  Having  spent  an  evening 
with  his  wife  at  a  neighbor's  house,  they  returned  with- 
out praying.  Reflection  brought  reproof,  and  he  imme- 
diately went  back,  a  cold  winter's  night,  and  commended 
the  family  to  God.  His  peace  was  then  undisturbed ;  and 
he  could  not  aiFord  to  lose  such  a  blessing  by  the  neglect 
of  a  duty  so  easily  performed. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year,  he  was  visiting 
through  the  church  in  company  with  a  brother,  and  seem- 
ed impressed  with  the  necessity  of  diligence.  He  would 
call  upon  a  family,  speak  a  few  words  with  them  about 
the  welfare  of  their  souls,  kneel  down  and  pray,  and  has- 
ten to  the  next  house.  The  church  was  revived,  sinners 
were  awakened,  he  was  taken  sick,  and,  in  the  midst  of 
this  interest,  on  the  24th  of  February,  was  summoned 
away  by  death.  He  was  in  the  full  vigor  of  manhood, 
being  forty  years  of  age  ;  but  "  the  Lord  seethnot  as  man 
seeth,"  and  "  shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ?" 
The  funeral  was  attended  by  Stinchfield,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  mourning  friends.  Two  of  his  sons,  Joseph  and 
Samuel,  and  one  of  his  nephews,  Daniel  Hutchinson,  had 
experienced  religion  more  than  a  year  before,  and  all  of 
them  soon  entered  the  ministry. 

The  February  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  convened 
in  Mount  Vernon  in  1802.  The  weather  was  inclement, 
18* 


210  MAINE.  [1802. 

the  travelling  bad,  and  the  attendance  small ;  Edgecomb 
and  Farmington  being  the  only  Quarterly  Meetings  report- 
ed. Stinchfield  tarried  there  and  at  Belgrade  for  a  few 
days,  and  then  journeyed  eastward,  holding  meetings  in 
WaterviHe,  "Winslow,  Clinton,  Unity,  and  Knox,  accom- 
panied, not  only  by  a  brother  in  the  ministry,  but  the 
Divine  blessing.  This  was  a  wilderness  country,  roads 
were  bad,  snow  was  deep,  and  many  of  the  people  lived 
in  log  houses,  or  camps  built  of  evergreens.  These  ser- 
vants of  Christ  encouraged  themselves  with  the  hope  that 
at  LincolnviUe  their  trials  would  be  ended,  but  in  this  they 
were  disappointed ;  for  the  church  was  in  a  divided  state. 
As  Stinchfield  sat  musing  one  evening  over  the  compli- 
cated trials  of  earth,  the  words  of  Dr.  Watts  came  imcall- 
ed  to  his  mind,  and  he  said, 

"  Give  me  the  wings  of  faith  to  rise 
"Within  the  veil,  and  see 
The  saints  above,  how  great  their  joys  ! 
How  bright  their  glories  be  !" 
"  Once  they  were  mourning  here  below,"  &c. 

Faith  looked  upward,  the  veil  parted,  and  whom  should 
he  meet  in  his  contemplations,  but  Paul,  the  apostle  ? 
His  sufferings  for  Christ  at  once  checked  the  murmurings 
of  Stinchfield,  who  soon  bowed  before  the  Lord  in  grate- 
ful acknowledgment  of  mercies  received.  They  visited 
most  of  the  churches  in  that  section,  and  returned  after  an 
absence  of  six  or  seven  weeks. 

Having  preached  and  baptized  several  times  in  Otis- 
field,  and  being  worn  down  with  labor  and  anxiety, 
he  was  quite  ill,  one  night,  as  he  retired  to  rest.  He 
coughed  much,  and  found,  in  the  morning,  that  he  had 
bled  considerably.  "Weak  in  body,  and  depressed  in  spirit, 
he  thought  of  leaving  his  dear  family  unprovided  for ; 
and,  as  he  thought  thereon,  he  wept.  By  grace  Divine, 
he  was  enabled  to  commit  all  into  the  hands  of  the  wise 
Disposer  of  all  events,  and  a  spirit  of  heavenly  resignation 
filled  his  soul.     For  six  months  he  was  unfit  for  service, 


1S04.J         TEAKLY   MEETING  AT   MOUNT  VERNON.  211 

frequently  raising  blood  ;  but  he  accomplisbed  a  good 
year's  labor,  having  preached  two  hundred  and  thiriy-four 
times. 

Randall  attended  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Woolwich, 
September  4th,  at  the  house  of  John  Card,  and  spent  the 
entire  month  in  preaching  to  the  churches,  and  witnessing 
the  displays  of  Divine  power.  The  church  in  "Westport 
received  an  addition  of  nineteen  members. 

The  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  held  its  sessions 
regularly,  but  it  was  in  a  low,  tried  state.  Not  a  church 
was  added  during  the  year,  and  only  twenty-four  members 
were  added.  Half  of  the  churches  did  not  report  to  the 
Quarterly  Meeting,  and  it  was  voted  at  the  August  session 
tbat  the  churches  should  look  up  their  gifts,  and  report 
the  same,  that  ruling  elders  and  deacons  might  be  ordain- 
ed in  every  destitute  church,  and  discipline  enforced. 

The  year  1803  was  one  of  prosperity  to  many  of  the 
churches  in  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting.  At  "West- 
port  "  the  work  spread  marvellously ;"  and  while  the 
September  Yearly  Meeting  was  in  session,  Stinchfield 
prayed  with  such  power  at  a  baptismal  scene,  that  several 
were  convicted,  and  he  went  to  Edgecomb  soon  after  and 
baptized  upwards  of  thirty.  Several  committees  were 
chosen  at  this  meeting  to  visit  the  churches,  and  Randall 
spent  a  month  in  this  work.  The  Quarterly  Meeting  con- 
vened at  Bristol  in  October,  and  most  of  the  churches 
were  reported.  At  the  close  of  public  worship  the  second 
day,  "  before  the  communion  service  was  ended,  the  glory 
of  God  filled  the  house  in  such  a  wonderful  manner,"  that 
seven  or  eight  were  converted.  An  Elders'  Conference 
was  then  established. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  was  held  at  Mount  Vernon,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1804,  under  circumstances  similar  to  those  which 
caused  so  small  an  attendance  two  years  before.  The 
report  from  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  said,  "  The 
work  of  the  Lord  spreads  gloriously  in  the  Wilderness,  ^ 

^  This  was  a  frontier  settlement  in  Knox. 


212  MAINE.  [1804. 

wliicli  blossoms  as  tlie  rose  ;  and  in  Edgecomb  it  is  mar- 
vellous." Sickness  prevented  Randall  frona  attending  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  "Woohvicb,  September  1st,  but  be  sent 
an  epistle  which,  the  record  says,  "  caused  mourning  at 
first,  and  then  rejoicing  ;  also  deep  examination  and  con- 
firmation." "  Prayer  was  made  without  ceasing  of  the 
church  unto  God  for  him,"  and  he  was  able  to  attend  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  Parsonsfield  the  November  following. 

Both  of  these  sessions  were  unusually  interesting  ;  es- 
pecially the  one  at  Woolwich.  Meetings  were  also  held 
at  Georgetown  and  Westport  on  the  Sabbath,  and  such 
was  the  number  of  awakened  sinners  that  came  together 
on  Monday,  and  such  was  the  spirit  of  devotion  in  the 
Yearly  Meeting,  that  business  was  suspended,  and  the 
forenoon  was  spent  in  "  exhortation,  prayer  and  praise." 
Two  were  baptized  at  noon,  and  Stinchfield  preached  in 
the  afternoon. 

At  this  time  he  was  the  most  active  minister  in  the 
Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  usually  presided  over 
its  deliberations,  though  he  still  lived  at  New  Gloucester. 
He  left  home  in  January,  crossed  the  Kennebec  at  Hal- 
lowell,  followed  up  the  river  through  several  towns,  and 
then  turned  eastward,  preaching  in  most  of  the  frontier  • 
towns  till  he  came  to  the  Penobscot,  thence  doAvn  that 
river,  and  along  the  coast  to  Camden,  where  he  tarried  a 
few  days,  witnessing  great  displays  of  Immanuel's  power. 
He  preached  several  times  in  Bristol,  Edgecomb,  New 
Castle,  and  other  towns,  and  returned  from  this  long 
journey  physically  exhausted,  but  spiritually  strengthened. 
He  soon  took  another  journey  into  the  Farmington  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  and  saw  the  beginning  of  extensive  revivals 
in  Anson  and  "Wilton. 

As  the  Legislature  of  New  Hampshire  now  recognized 
the  Freewill  Baptists  of  that  State  as  a  Christian  denomi- 
nation, a  general  and  enthusiastic  effort  was  made  to 
secure  a  similar  recognition  in  Maine,  and  thus  relieve 
themselves  from  taxation  to  the   Congregationalists.     At 


I 


1804.]  ORDINATIONS.  213 

the  November  Yearly  Meeting,  it  was  "  Voted  that  it  is 
the  mind  of  this  meeting  to  petition  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts,*  that  all  the  Freewill,  Antipedo  Baptists  in 
said  State  maybe  incorporated  into  a  society  by  the  above 
name."  Tingley,  Buzzell,  Stinchfield,  Hobbs  and  Tufts, 
and  laymen  Amos  Rich  and  Eliphalet  Haskell,  were 
chosen  a  committee  to  draft  a  petition,  appoint  agents, 
and  otherwise  prosecute  the  business.  Ephraim  Stinch- 
field and  Francis  Tufts  were  appointed  agents,  and  soon 
left  for  Boston.  Their  petition  was  received,  but  not 
granted.  After  pressing  their  suit  at  five  different  ses- 
sions without  success,  the  idea  of  obtaining  one  general 
act  of  incorporation  was  relinquished,  and  the  several 
parish  societies  were  incorporated  without  opposition. 
Having  secured  their  end  at  the  close  of  this  decade,  their 
taxation  ceased,  their  public  property  was  secure,  and 
their  rights  of  worship  were  more  generally  respected  ;  but 
they  were  stiU  regarded  as  a  despised  people,  unworthy  of 
Christian  fraternization. 

While  employed  in  this  agency,  Stinchfield  became  ac- 
quainted with  the  ministers  in  and  aroimd  Boston,  calling 
themselves  Christians,  and  often  preached  in  their  church- 
es. His  denominational  zeal  and  views  of  church  polity 
underwent  some  change  by  this  intercourse,  but  their 
modification  did  not  alienate  him  in  the  least  from  his 
brethren  ;  it  only  enlarged  his  catholic  spirit.  He  once 
preached  on  Boston  Common. 

Thomas  McKinney,  of  Lincoln ville,  was  ordained  Jan- 
uary 18th,  the  Quarterly  Meeting  being  in  session  there  at 
the  time. 

Timothy  Cunningham,  of  Edgecomb,  was  ordained  as 
ruling  elder  early  in  the  season ;  he  afterwards  preached 
extensively,  but  received  no  other  ordination.  He  lived 
to  serve  his  generation  in  the  cause  of  Christ  thirty-two 
years  after  this,  and  died  an  octogenarian. 

*  Maine  was  not  an  incorporated  State,  but  a  District  of  Massachu- 
setts. 


iJl4:  MAINE.  [1805. 

Adam  Elliott,  of  Brunswick,  was  ordained  August 
16th,  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  being  held  there  at 
the  time.  After  ten  years  of  pastoral  service,  he  was  dis- 
charged from  earthly  labors. 

Ebenezer  Scales,  of  "Wilton,  was  ordained  at  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  in  Anson,  October  21st.  He  was  for- 
merly from  New  Hampshire,  where  he  received  license, — 
was  a  progressive  man,  always  prompt  in  the  march  of 
benevolent  and  Christian  effort,  and  eminently  useful  as  a 
revivalist,  and  in  planting  churches.  At  the  advanced 
age  of  nearly  four  score  and  ten,  he  went  home  to  his  re- 
ward. 

John  Trefethren,  of  Cornville,  was  ordained  at  the 
same  time  and  place  with  Scales,  as  ruling  elder.  His 
early  associations  with  Randall  have  been  already  no- 
ticed, and  from  this  time  he  was  a  good  pastor  and  local 
preacher. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  in  1805  held  its  three  sessions  in 
Maine,  within  the  limits  of  the  three  Quarterly  Meetings, 
as  usual.  The  winter  session  was  in  Wilton,  but  a  previ- 
ous snow  storm  had  blockaded  the  roads,  so  that  no  one 
attended  from  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting. 
Its  September  session  opened  at  "Woolwich,  with  many 
prayers  and  faithful  exhortations.  In  November  it  con- 
vened at  Gorham ;  the  reports  were  good,  and  the  meeting 
was  memorable,  not  only  because  of  the  controversy  with 
Elias  Smith,  to  be  noticed  hereafter,  but  on  account  of  the 
great  religious  interest.  On  Sabbath  morning,  the  audi- 
ence, of  more  than  a  thousand  in  number,  repaired  to  a 
beautiful  pasture,  there  being  "  much  grass  in  the  place," 
and  listened  to  a  most  eloquent  discourse  from  Smith. 
The  record  says,  "  He  was  succeeded  by  a  great  number 
of  very  powerful  exhortations,  which  continued  until  near 
sunset.  Evening  meetings  of  great  interest  were  held  in 
different  parts  of  the  town,  and  the  next  day  Eandall 
preached  in  the  same  pasture,  where  the  interest  was  far 
in  advance  of  that  on  the  preceding  day,  and  the  meeting 


1805.]         QUARTERLY   MEETINGS ORDINATIONS.  215 

continued  equally  late.  The  evening  services  at  the  meet- 
ing house  closed  at  a  seasonable  hour,  but  anxious  souls 
were  still  intent  upon  finding  the  Saviour,  and  several  tar- 
ried for  hours  in  prayer  and  conversation  with  them.  A 
more  interesting  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  had  never 
been  held  in  Maine,  and  quite  a  number  there  gave  their 
hearts  to  the  Lord. 

At  the  October  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Waterborougli, 
the  work  of  revival  commenced,  and  it  soon  became  glo- 
rious ;  other  churches '  also  shared  the  Divine  blessing. 
The  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  this  year  passed 
through  trying  scenes,  yet  it  received  the  "Winthrop  church 
of  thirty  members,  gathered  by  Samuel  Williams. 

An  addition  of  fifty  members  and  two  churches — Knox 
and  Lincoln — was  reported  to  the  first  session  of  the 
Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting.  An  isolated  settlement 
called  the  "  "Wilderness,"  had  commenced  in  Knox  about 
four  years  before,  and  a  good  religious  interest  had  been 
constantly  sustained.  A  revival  commenced  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  season,  and  continued  till,  in  a  settlement  of 
thirty  families,  not  a  person  over  ten  years  of  age  was  to 
be  found  that  had  not  become  hopefully  pious.  Forty  had 
been  baptized,  and  the  church  then  numbered  seventy 
members.  "When  Stiuchfield  visited  them  in  January, 
1806,  and  baptized  the  last  eight,  it  was  a  rural  paradise  ; 
and  he  says,  "  It  reminded  me  of  the  happy  day  when 
the  whole  earth  shall  be  filled  with  the  glory  of  God." 

Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  August  session  in  Dur- 
ham, "  the  melting  power  of  the  Lord  came  down  in  a 
manner  so  marvellous  that  no  business  was  done  for  sev- 
eral hours."  On  the  last  day  Stinchfield  preached  in  a 
grove  to  a  weeping  audience,  after  which  a  precious  sea- 
son was  enjoyed  at  the  Lord's  table,  and  the  meeting  closed 
with  the  baptism  of  six  happy  converts. 

Samuel  "Williams,  of  Avon,  was  ordained  at  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  in  that  place  January  20th.  He  was 
a  rough,  strongman,  not  unfrequently  regardless  of  oth- 


216  MAINE.  [1807. 

ers'  feelings.  After  several  years  of  successful  labor  in 
Maine,  he  removed  to  south-western  Pennsylvania,  and 
first  planted  the  Freewill  Baptist  interest  in  that  part  of 
the  State. 

Samuel  Applebee,  of  York,  was  ordained  at  the  Elders' 
Conference  in  Somersworth,  N.  H.,  August  23d.  He  had 
been  preaching  for  a  time  with  good  success,  and  now  he 
desired  baptism  and  union  with  the  denomination.  His 
ordination  was  requested,  and  all  were  agreed  in  its  pro- 
priety, notwithstanding  the  peculiar  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  about  to  occur.  While  the  Conference  con- 
tinued its  business,  Rev.  Abijah  Watson  and  others  re- 
paired to  the  Avater,  where  baptism  was  administered, 
after  which  the  Conference  adjourned,  and  all  walked  into 
a  beautiful  field,  where  the  ordination  services  were  per- 
formed. 

At  the  February  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  in,  Wil- 
ton, in  1806,  the  spontaneous  desire  of  Christians  to  praise 
the  Lord,  and  of  sinners  to  seek  the  Saviour,  was  so  great, 
that,  after  the  sermon  by  Tufts  Sabbath  morning,  there 
was  no  farther  opportunity  for  preaching,  or  the  commun- 
ion, for  two  days. 

February  2d,  1807,  Eandall  left  home  to  attend  the 
Yearly  Meeting  there  again,  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Lew- 
iston,  where  he  was  arrested  in  his  journey  by  a  violent 
and  continued  snow-storm.  Calmly  yielding  to  the  will 
of  Providence,  he  turned  homeward,  visiting  his  friends, 
and  often  preaching  on  the  way.  A  very  few  had  preceded 
the  storm,  and  the  Yearly  Meeting  was  small  in  numbers, 
but  great  in  power.  At  the  close  of  a  sermon  by  Leach, 
on  the  Sabbath,  about  twenty  came  forward,  and  not  only 
sought,  but  found  the  Saviour.  He  preached  again  the 
next  day  with  equal  effect,  and  "prayer,  praise,  and  ex- 
hortation took  up  the  time  till  night  came  on."  The 
August  session  of  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  was  held 
at  Belgrade,  in  the  barn  of  Eev.  Asa  Libby.  Ebenezer 
Scales  and  Moses  Dudley  preached  on  the  Sabbath,  and 


\ 


1807.]  ORDINATIONS.  217 

it  Avas  "  a  glorious  meeting,  a  refreshing  season  through 
the  whole  day."  The  Elders'  Conference  was  now  accus- 
tomed to  meet  at  sunrise,  that  its  sessions  might  not  inter- 
fere with  the  business  or  the  worship  of  the  Quarterly- 
Meeting. 

Stinchfield  labored  successfully  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Maine,  and  at  Kittery,  and  other  places  in  the  western 
part  of  the  District,  where  he  baptized  "  not  far  from 
seventy."  During  the  year  he  preached  four  hundred  and 
thirty-six  times.  Notwithstanding  these  revivals,  this 
year,  on  the  whole,  was  one  of  many  trials,  great  labor, 
and  comparatively  little  harvest. 

Humphrey  Purrington  experienced  religion  in  Harps- 
well,  and  united  with  the  Congregationalists  in  1775.  Af- 
ter serving  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  he  settled  in  Bow- 
doin,  and  united  with  the  Baptist  church.  A  part  of  the 
church  were  Arminians,  and  finally  Purrington  and  ten 
others  were  rejected  as  heretics.  In  1805  they  united 
together  under  the  name  of  "  Christian  Band,"  not  know- 
ing as  their  peculiar  views  were  embraced  by  any  others. 
Purrington  was  the  leader,  and  preached  considerably, 
large  accessions  being  made  to  their  number.  When  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  Freewill  Baptists,  he  found 
them  to  be  his  own  people,  and  was  ordained  in  Decem- 
ber, 1807. 

But  brighter  days  began  to  dawn  upon  Zion  with  the 
opening  of  the  next  year.  A  report  came  to  the  January 
session  of  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  that  fourteen 
members  of  the  Knox  church  had  withdrawn,  and  set  up 
a  separate  meeting.  This  called  for  a  committee,  and  the 
seceders  were  found  to  be  well  meaning  persons,  but  led 
on  by  a  man  of  fiery  spirit,  and  great  conceit.  Stinch- 
field continued  there  nearly  two  months,  effected  a  recon- 
ciliation, saw  many  converted,  and  twelve  united  with  the 
church.  Thus  were  the  efforts  of  Satan  to  destroy,  over- 
ruled for  the  glory  of  God. 

At  Lincolnville,  Stinchfield  witnessed  one  of  the  most 
19 


218  MAINE.  [1808. 

extensive  revivals  in  which  it  was  his  good  fortune  to  la- 
bor. About  the  time  of  his  arrival  there,  a  young  woman 
under  deep  conviction  as  a  sinner,  retired  to  the  woods, 
one  night,  for  prayer.  Her  unusual  absence  awakened 
uneasiness  in  the  family,  and,  search  being  made,  the 
sound  of  her  voice  soon  revealed  the  place  of  her  retreat, 
and  the  anguish  of  her  soul.  Mercy  was  found ;  the 
neighborhood  was  awakened,  and  great  was  the  anxiety 
to  hear  the  gospel.  Meetings  were  held  once,  twice,  and 
sometimes  thrice  a  day,  attended  with  great  demonstra- 
tions of  Divine  power.  The  all-absorbing  interest  was  to 
find  or  praise,  the  Saviour  ;  and,  to  meet  the  pressing 
wants  of  the  occasion,  a  school  house  was  engaged  for  a 
week,  and  notice  given  that  it  would  be  open  from  ten  in 
the  morning  until  ten  in  the  evening,  for  religious  servic- 
es. During  that  memorable  week,  there  was  not  an  hour, 
•within  the  specified  time,  when  inquirers  were  not  there, 
intent  upon  the  salvation  of  their  souls.  Stinchfield  says, 
"  I  preached  fifteen  times  and  baptized  twenty-eight.  It 
Was  one  of  the  happiest  weeks  in  my  life."  The  work  ex- 
tended with  equal  power  into  Hope,  Camden,  and  Thom- 
aston.  He  continued  there  till  the  last  of  August,  when 
he  says,  "  Upon  a  moderate  calculation,  there  were  four 
hundred  persons  hopefully  converted,  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy  of  Avhom  I  baptized  before  returning  home." 
Churches  of  other  denominations  received  large  accessions. 
At  Waterville  he  next  spent  a  few  Aveeks,  witnessed  a  few 
conversions,  and  baptized  eight. 

A  revival  commenced  at  Georgetown  in  July,  and  pro- 
gressed with  great  power  through  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  At  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  October,  fifty-six  had 
been  added  to  the  church,  and  from  that  time  Stinchfield 
was  there,  unwearied  in  his  labors.  When  the  Yearly 
Meeting  convened  at  Parsonsficld,  the  very  last  of  Octo- 
ber, his  hands  were  full,  and  he  wrote  "a  very  refreshing 
letter"  to  atone  for  his  absence.  He  remained  till  the 
last  of  December,  baptiz^ed  seventy-six,   and   thought  the 


18'G8.]  REVIVAL   IN   SACO.  219 

number  of  conversions  amounted  to  about  two  hundred. 
The  sum  total  of  the  additions  reported  to  the  October 
Yearly  Meeting,  "  within  a  little  more  than  two  months, 
was  two  hundred  and  fifty-four." 

At  the  May  session  of  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, several  churches  reported  revivals,  and  backsliders 
were  there  reclaimed,  and  sinners  converted.  WhUe  the 
Elders'  Conference  was  in  session  in  the  house  of  Rev. 
Francis  Tufts,  on  Monday,  others  were  engaged  in  wor- 
ship at  the  barn.  And  it  was  not  uncommon  in  those 
days,  for  laymen  and  women  to  sustain  interesting  social 
meetings,  and  witness  the  conversion  of  sinners,  while 
ministers  were  attending  to  their  own  peculiar  business. 

The  Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting  convened  in  the 
north  part  of  Saco,  the  last  of  August,  and  four  ministers 
were  present — Tingley,  Buzzell,  Leach  and  Hobbs.  The 
people  came  in  multitudes,  so  that  no  building  would  ac- 
commodate them,  and  seats  were  prepared  in  a  grove, 
where  they  sat  down,  in  number  about  two  thousand. 
The  exercises  were  opened  by  singing,  prayer  and  exhor- 
tation. 

The  reading  of  the  reports  from  the  churches,  especially 
those  giving  accounts  of  revivals,  was  interspersed  with, 
and  followed  by,  exhortations  to  the  people.  A  sermon 
was  preached  in  the  afternoon  by  Henry  Hobbs  ;  and 
his  heavy  voice,  sounding  off  on  the  still,  damp  air, 
arrested  the  attention  of  a  young  man,  "  more  than  a 
mile  distant."  That  solemn  sound  was  accompanied  by 
the  spirit  of  conviction,  and,  calling  for  mercy,  he  soon 
found  pardon.  Such  was  the  conversion  of  Rev.  Henry 
Leach. 

The  sermon  Avas  followed  by  many  stirring  exhor- 
tations, and  a  lad,  twelve  years  of  age,  the  eldest  son 
of  Rev.  John  Buzzell,  rose  to  speak,  and,  being  small, 
he  was  placed  upon  the  shoulder  of  a  large  man,  where 
his  youthful  exhortation  was  given  with  much  effect. 
Before  the  meeting  closed,  many  offered  the  publican's 


220  MAINE.  [1808. 

prayer,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  The  con- 
gregation was  increased  the  next  day,  and,  by  the  third 
day,  almost  every  house  in  that  vicinity  had  become 
a  house  of  prayer.  Young  men  and  maidens,  old  men 
and  children,  were  the  subjects  of  this  work.  The  meet- 
ing was  protracted,  the  ministers  attended  alternately,  the 
weather  was  fine,  and  their  worship  in  the  grove  by  day, 
and  in  private  houses  by  night,  was,  comparatively,  un- 
molested. For  three  weeks  the  glorious  work  went  on, 
and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  converted. 

On  one  occasion  Buzzell  and  Hobbs  administered  the 
ordinance  of  baptism  under  signal  manifestations  of  the 
Divine  favor.  The  candidates  were  examined  in  the 
grove,  after  which  the  people,  sixteen  hundred  in  number, 
repaired  to  the  water,  a  mile  and  a  half  distant,  with 
books  in  their  hands,  singing  as  they  walked.  Just  as 
they  reached  the  narroAV  stream,  a  dark  cloud  was  seen 
rising  in  the  west,  and  soon  the  distant  thunder  was 
heard.  In  terrific  grandeur  the  cloud  rolled  up,  the  light- 
ning flashed,  and  the  thunder  roared,  producing,  for  the 
moment,  not  a  little  sensation.  But  God  was  pleased  to 
favor  his  ordinance,  and  the  cloud  divided,  so  that,  while 
the  rain  fell  in  torrents  both  north  and  south,  the  baptis- 
mal scene  was  deliberately  progressing,  unannoyed  by  the 
few  scattering  drops.  In  forty  minutes  the  work  was 
done  ;  forty-one  had  followed  their  Saviour  in  baptism, 
and  the  hand  of  fellowship  had  been  given.  The  sun 
again  smiled  through  the  parting  curtains,  the  gorgeous 
bow  spanned  the  departing  cloud,  and  the  people  dispersed, 
praising  the  Lord. 

The  same  administrators  soon  after  baptized  forty-nine 
others  at  different  times,  and  the  work  still  continued.  Saco 
village  was  visited  in  mercy,  and  many  were  the  meetings 
in  the  old  Congregational  house,  where  the  people  of  all 
classes  not  only  met,  but  found  and  praised  the  Lord.  In 
after  years  that  gracious  work  was  denominated,  "  the 
grove  reformation." 


1809.]  KEVIVALS.  221 

In  Standish  the  work  commenced  in  this  wise  :  A  lit- 
tle girl  from  that  town,  having  become  a  Christian  at  the 
grove  meeting  in  Saco,  desired  baptism.  By  request, 
Zachariah  Leach  sent  an  appointment  there,  for  preaching 
the  word  and  administering  the  ordinance.  The  word 
preached  was  so  searching,  the  experience  related  so  im- 
pressive, and  the  scene  at  the  water  so  solemn,  that  many- 
were  convicted,  and  at  once  decided  the  great  question  of 
life,  that  they,  too,  would  be  Christians.  From  that  glad 
hour  the  revival  commenced,  and  soon  Standish  and  G-or- 
ham  were  deluged  with  the  floods  of  Divine  grace.  The 
work  continued  through  the  winter,  and  two  hundred  and 
fifty  were  converted  ;  some  of  them  living  in  other  towns. 
Leach  and  Samuel  Hutchinson  baptized  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  number.  Coming  up  from  the  baptismal  wa- 
ters on  one  of  those  joyful  occasions.  Leach  was  impress- 
ed with  the  serious  countenance  of  a  young  man,  in  the 
front  ranks  of  the  crowd,  and,  taking  him  by  the  hand, 
said,  "  Come,  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the 
Lord."  These  words,  and  the  accompanying  remarks, 
were  blessed  to  his  awakening  ;  and  thus  was  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  one  of  our  most  eminent  min- 
isters. Rev.  Joseph  White. 

In  addition  to  these  great  revivals,  the  work  was  very 
precious  in  other  towns.  Twenty-four  were  added  to  the 
church  in  Shapleigh,  forty-nine  in  Phillips,  and  we  know 
not  how  many  in  Anson,  Farmington,  Newfield  and 
Wells.  In  the  latter  place  a  church  of  nine  members  was 
embodied  by  Eev.  Nathaniel  Webster,  of  Tamworth,  N. 
H.,  all  of  whom  had  separated  from  the  Calvinistic  Bap^- 
tists.  In  addition  to  these  great  revivals,  not  less  than 
eight  ministers  received  ordination  this  year,  whose  names 
are  given  at  the  close  of  the  chapter. 

The  revival  interest  in  1809  continued  through  the  year. 

In  Bristol,  Knox  and  Dixmont,  the  work  was  good,  but 

more  extensive  in  Georgetown  and  Woolwich.     Fifty-four 

united  with   the   church   in   the   former   place,  although 

19* 


222  MAINE.  [1809. 

twenty  left,  and  united  with  others  in  the  formation  of  a 
Methodist  class.  But  in  "Woolwich  the  saving  power  of 
God  was  wonderfully  manifested.  Stinchfield  commenced 
his  labors  there  the  last  of  February,  and  March  1st  was 
observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  for  the  baptism 
of  the  Spirit  upon  the  church,  and  for  the  salvation  of  sin- 
ners. The  same  evening  six  came  forward,  leaving  all 
for  Christ,  and  the  work  soon  spread  rapidly,  extending 
through  Wiscasset,  so  that  on  the  16th  of  May,  when  he 
left,  seventy  had  been  baptized  and  had  united  with  the 
churches  in  those  two  places.  One  of  the  number  was  a 
young  man  that  had  been  speechless  for  a  year,  in  conse- 
quence of  severe  sickness.  On  the  day  of  his  baptism, 
when  raised  from  the  water,  he  shouted  three  times  intel- 
ligently, and  was  mute  again  for  several  months,  but  his 
speech  was  finally  restored. 

Throughout  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  there  was 
a  good  religious  interest.  At  the  January  session  in  Lin- 
colnville,  nearly  a  thousand  persons  were  present,  and, 
there  being  no  house  of  worship  for  their  accommodation, 
meetings  were  held  at  three  private  houses  at  the  same 
time,  and  the  Lord's  supper  was  administered  at  each 
place. 

From  Standish  and  Gorham,  where  the  woi*k  was  so 
powerful  last  year,  it  now  appeared  on  the  other  side  of 
Lake  Sebago,  and  Raymond  became  the  scene  of  convert- 
ing grace.  It  commenced  at  the  Quarterly  Meeting  held 
there  in  May,  nor  did  it  cease  till  seventy  were  brought  to 
the  feet  of  Jesus,  Zachariah  Jordan  being  one  of  the  num- 
ber. 

Many  of  the  inhabitants  in  Gray  and  New  Gloucester 
returned  from  the  above-named  Quarterly  Meeting  con- 
vinced of  their  great  need  of  religion.  At  the  August 
session  in  Durham,  some  of  them  resolved  to  hesitate  no 
longer,  and  the  reformation  then  began.  Stinchfield  was 
absent  on  a  three  months'  tour  in  York,  WeUs,  Kittery 
and  Portsmouth,  where  he  baptized  seventy  in  .the  time, 


1809.]  STATISTICS.  223 

and,  on  his  return,  the  last  of  September,  he  found  that 
the  church  was  sustaining  its  meetings  with  great  inter- 
est, unaided  by  ministerial  help.  Christians  were  not 
only  awake,  and  sinners  were  not  only  finding  the  Saviour, 
but,  by  waiting  upon  the  Lord,  they  renewed  their  strength 
and  became  spiritual  giants.  Seventeen  were  baptized 
the  next  day  after  his  return,  and,  for  more  than  a  year, 
he  gave  himself  almost  exclusively  to  the  work  in  his  own 
town,  and  those  immediately  adjoining  ;  the  revival  con- 
tinuing all  the  while.  For  seventeen  years  had  he  been 
praying  for  such  a  day  ;  and  now  he  saw,  not  only  his 
neighbors,  but  all  of  his  own  family,  save  the  very  small- 
est of  his  children,  brought  to  Christ.  The  estimated 
number  of  conversions  was  three  hundred,  and  before 
twelve  months  had  elapsed,  Stinchfield  had  baptized  in 
G-ray  and  New  Gloucester  alone,  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
four.  It  was  in  this  revival  that  he  "  baptized  the  last  of 
his  one  thousand  who  had  gone  forward  within  eleven 
years."  Henry  Hobbs  and  Elias  Smith  were  efficient  co- 
laborers  in  this  revival,  and  baptized  many,  particularly 
in  Poland. 

In  Gorham,  Standish  and  Raymond,  there  was  more 
excitement,  and  less  permanency  in  the  work.  Not  only 
young  women,  but  able-bodied  men  of  peculiar  tempera- 
ment, fell  prostrate,  under  what  they  called  the  great 
power  of  God  ;  and  this  "swooning"  was  regarded  by 
many  as  a  virtue,  and  prayerfully  sought.  Its  influence, 
as  then  cherished,  was  prejudicial  to  a  thorough  work  of 
grace  on  the  heart,  and  a  full  trust  in  Christ. 

In  November,  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  re- 
ported an  addition  of  one  hundred  within  the  two  previous 
months,  the  Farmington  and  Cornville  churches  being 
wonderfully  blessed. 

Churches  are  known  to  have  been  organized  in  this 
period  as  follows  :  In  1800,  Brunswick,  Lewiston,  New 
Portland,  and  Standish  ;  '01,  Cornville,  and  Mount  Ver- 
non ;    '03,   Prospect,    Starks,   Thorndyke,   Vienna,   and 


224  MAINE.  [1809. 

Wilderness  ;  '05,  Bowdoin,  Knox,  Liucoln,  and  Winthrop  ; 
'06,  Avon,  and  Wiscasset ;  '08,  Wells  ;  '09,  Charleston, 
Dixmont,  and  Freeman. 

The  Ordinations  were  as  follows : — In  1800,  Thomas 
Wilbur ;  '01,  Henry  Hobbs,  Samuel  Lord,  Nathaniel 
Webster,  and  Edward  Savage  ;  '02,  Daniel  Hutchinson  ; 
'03,  Hezekiah  Sawtelle  ;  '04,  Timothy  Cunningham,  Adam 
Elliott,  Thomas  McKinney,  Ebenezer  Scales,  and  John 
Trefethren  ;  '05,  Samuel  Applebee,  Ephraim  Grant,  Asa 
Libby,  Ebenezer  Brown,  and  Samuel  Williams ;  '06, 
Samuel  Hutchinson,  and  Samuel  Wliitney  ;  '07,  Humph- 
rey Goodwin,  Benaiah  Pratt  and  Humphrey  Purrington  ; 
'08,  Jesse  Burnham,  Ezekiel  Elliott,  William  Paine, 
George  Parcher,  John  Lamb,  Ephraim  Stevens,  Chris- 
topher Tracy,  and  Daniel  Young  ;  '09,  Moses  Dudley, 
and  Moses  McFarland ;  and  Samuel  Hutchins  near  the 
close  of  this  decade. 

The  Death  of  Joseph  Hutchinson  in  1801  has  already 
been  noticed,  and  was  the  only  one  during  these  ten  years. 


1800.]  churCh  in  new  hampton.  225 


CHAPTER  XI. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

1800—1810. 

Church  at  New  Hampton — Quarterly  Meeting  there — Gilford — Mere- 
dith— Quarterly  Meeting  at  Pittsfield — ^Unity  Quarterly  Meeting — As- 
sessment— Singing  on  the  way  to  Quarterly  Meeting — Joseph  Quin- 
by — Fall  of  Ballard — ^Randall's  Published  Sermon — Madison — Ordina- 
tions— ^Randall's  Illness — Fall  of  Pottle — Legislative  Recognition — 
Revivals — Yearly  Meeting  in  1806 — ^Randall  at  Sutton — Osgoodites — 
Death  of  David  Knowlton,  Jr. — Randall's  Last  Labors — His  Last 
Sickness — His  Last  Letter — ^His  Death — Reflections — Churches  Or- 
ganized— Ordinations — Deaths. 

In  the  summer  of  1799  Daniel  Elkins  of  Gilford  preached 
on  Meredith  Hill,  and  in  the  autumn,  M.  Holman  Rollins 
attended  several  meetings  there,  and  a  revival  soon  com- 
menced, which  extended  into  New  Hampton,  where  it  be- 
came very  general.  Rev.  Winthrop  Young  of  Canterbury 
was  the  great  instrumentality  in  this  work,  and  a  church 
of  sixty-four  members  was  organized  Jan.  6,  1800.  Thus 
commenced  the  FreewiU  Baptist  interest  in  New  Hamp- 
ton ;  meetings  were  held  in  every  school  district  in  town, 
and  the  gracious  work  continued  for  twenty  months.  In 
the  midst  of  this  revival  the  town  proceeded  to  settle  a 
minister  in  the  legal  manner.     The  records  say, 

"  New  Hampton,  March  20,  1800. 
"  At  a  public  town  meeting  duly  notified  and  held  this 
day  at  the  meeting  house  in  said  town  ;***** 
Voted,  73  votes,  to  settle  Mr.  Hibbard  as  a  gospel  minis- 
ter, and  45  against  it." 


226  NEW   HAMPSHIlftE.  [1800. 

The  meeting  adjourned  to  May  otli,  and  then  a  "Pro- 
test" from  the  Freewill  Baptist  society  was  presented, 
with  a  desire  that  it  might  be  entered  upon  the  town  rec- 
ords, and  the  following  certificate,  signed  by  forty-six  citi- 
zens, was  filed  with  the  Selectmen. 

'■'■  To  the  Selectmen  of  New  Hampton : 

"  Whereas,  you  have  lately  called  a  town  meeting, 
and  voted  to  raise  a  certain  sum  of  money  to  hii-e  preach- 
ing in  said  toAAii,  this  is,  therefore,  to  certify  that  we, 
the  subscribers,  have  no  fellowship  Avith  raising  money  to 
pay  those  who  preach  for  hire,  or  divine  for  money ;  and, 
as  the  constitution  we  live  under  gives  liberty  of  con- 
science, we  wish  to  continue  a  free  people,  and  desire  you 
not  to  tax  us  with  any  part  of  such  sum,  or  sums,  as  may 
be  raised  for  such  use,  as  we  are  determined  not  to  pay 
it." 

Such  were  the  laws  at  the  commencement  of  the  pres- 
ent century  that  they  were  thus  relieved  from  taxation  ; 
but  they  did  not  stop  here.  A  petition  was  also  presented 
to  the  same  meeting  for  the  use  of  the  house  for  Quartei'- 
ly  Meeting,  and  their  share  of  the  time  on  the  Sabbath  ; 
also  for  their  share  of  the  property  "  given  by  the  origin- 
al grantors  for  the  support  of  the  gospel."  The  use  of  the 
house  for  Quarterly  Meeting  was  obtained,  (but  nothing 
more,)  and  the  May  session  convened  there  on  the  21st  of 
the  month.  The  reports  from  most  of  the  churches  were 
cheering,  giving  accounts  of  precious  revivals  and  large  ad- 
ditions ;  especially  in  Canterbury,  Second  Gilmanton,  Mid- 
dleton,  Albany,  Thornton,  and  New  Hampton.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  second  day,  business  was  suspended  for 
worship  and  communion  ;  and  Randall  says,  "  Truly  it 
was  a  most  w^onderful  season.  No  doubt  but  more  than 
two  hundred  communed  together,  and  the  glory  of  God 
came  down." 

The  devotional  interest  on  the  third  day  greatly  exceed- 
ed that  of  the  second,  so  that  no  business  was  attempted 


1800.J      QUARTERLY  MEETING   AT   NEW   HAMPTON.  227 

till  near  noon.  Rev.  Jeremiah  Ward,  for  several  years  a 
Calvinistic  Baptist  clergyman,  then  came  hefore  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting  and  proposed  to  unite  with  the  Freewill  Bap- 
tists, as  his  views  coincided  with  theirs^  so  far  as  he  un- 
derstood them.  By  request  he  commenced  "  a  very  par- 
ticular account  of  the  wonderful  dealings  of  God  with  his 
soul,  which  was  attended  with  such  evidences  of  the  Spir- 
it'^s  presence  and  the  power  of  God,"  that  for  '•'-four  hours" 
he  was  compelled  to  yield  the  floor  to  those  who  were  filled 
with  songs  of  praise,  shouts  of  joy,  cries  for  mercy,  and 
confessions  of  guilt.  When  there  was  a  little  cessation, 
Ward  completed  his  remarks,  and  all  were  satisfied,  but 
no  definite  action  was  then  taken  on  his  proposition,  such 
was  their  caution  in  the  reception  of  ministers. 

Randall  was  clerk  of  the  meeting,  and  closes  the  record 
with  these  remarks  :  "  We  have  reason  to  bless  God  that 
we  have  had  a  most  wonderful,  soul-refreshing  season, 
perhaps  greater  than  ever  experienced  before.  The  work 
of  the  Lord  broke  out  in  New  Hampton  about  eight 
months  past,  a  Monthly  Meeting  has  since  been  establish- 
ed, and  the  number  now  consists  of  114  baptized  mem- 
bers. Ninety-four  of  them  have  been  baptized  since 
January  last,  and  twenty  at  this  meeting  ;  all,  or  chiefly, 
by  our  dear  and  precious  brother.  Eld.  Winthrop  Young. 
All  glory  to  God  in  the  highest." 

The  independent  church  in  Gilford,  of  141  members, 
organized  by  Richard  Martin  two  years  before,  asked  for 
admission  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  the  request  was 
granted,  after  a  committee  had  visited  the  place,  and  unan- 
im.ously  reported  in  its  favor.  This  church  soon  held  a 
Monthly  Meeting  in  each  of  the  towns  of  Gilford,  Laco- 
nia,  Gilmanton,  Sanbornton  and  Andover,  with  a  leader 
in  each  branch.  At  the  general  Monthly  Meeting  in  Gil- 
manton (Province  Road) ,  each  branch  was  reported  by  its 
leader,  and  the  whole  number  of  members  at  one  time 
amounted  to  250.. 


228  NEW   HAIVIPSHIRE.  [1800. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  at  New  Durliam,  June  14th,  fully 
sustained  the  reputation  of  that  body  for  gi-eat  spirituality 
and  power.  The  record  of  Saturday  says,  "Before  we 
could  finish  reading  the  reports,  the  glory  of  God  came 
down  like  a  Pentecost  shower,  and  nothing  coiild  be  done 
but  to  adjourn  the  business  until  Monday,  and  attend  a 
meeting  of  worship."  The  congregation  on  Sunday  num- 
bered 2000  strong,  and,  though  at  home,  Randall  could 
not  be  excused  from  preaching. 

On  the  5th  of  August,  'Rev.  Simon  Pottle  preached  in 
the  northwest  part  of  Meredith,  and  at  midnight,  when 
the  meeting  closed,  nine  had  been  converted.  A  church 
^^'as  soon  organized,  and  Pottle  became  its  pastor. 

The  August  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was  held 
at  Pittsfield,  and  all  the  churches,  with  two  or  three  ex- 
ceptions, reported  a  good  interest,  and  most  of  them  revi- 
vals. Nearly  three  hundred  had  been  added  since  the 
May  session.  After  "  a  very  refreshing  discourse"  by 
Martin,  and  many  exhortations  of  great  power,  it  Avas 
supposed  that  between  two  and  three  hundred  partook  of 
the  Lord's  supper.  At  the  communion  season,  vocal 
praise  was  offered  by  one  and  another,  till  approaching 
night  reminded  them  that  other  appointments  must  be  met. 
A  committee  previously  sent  to  the  Unity  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing reported  that  it  was  in  "  a  very  broken  and  irregular 
condition ;  has  great  need  of  help,  which  must  be  very 
soon."  Randall  spent  three  Aveeks  within  its  limits,  and 
did  Avhat  he  could  to  establish  it  on  gospel  principles,  but 
the  churches  were  either  discoi^raged,  or  had  embraced 
the  fanatical  views  of  Ballard. 

At  this  Quarterly  Meeting  it  was  agreed  to  raise  8100  by 
voluntary  assessment  on  the  churches,  each  to  "  make  a  re- 
turn of  its  valuation  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  October,  on 
pain  of  being  considered  transgressors."  From  the  returns 
then  made,  the  wardens  assessed  the  churches  as  folloAvs  : 
Albany,  $4  ;  Berwick,  3  ;    Bridgewater,  4 ;  Canterbury, 


1801.]       QUARTERLY   MEETING   AT   NEW   HAJIPTON.  229 

6  ;  1  Gilmanton,  6  ;  2  Grilmanton,  6  ;  Gilford,  20  ;  Leba- 
non, Me.,  3  ;  Middleton,  4  ;  New  Castle,  2  ;  New  Hamp- 
ton, 10  ;  New  Durham,  10  ;  Pittsfield,  11 ;  Strafford,  5  ; 
Thornton,  3  ;  and  "Wolf  borough,  3.  Bradford  and  Mere- 
dith united  after  the  inventory  had  been  required,  but  they 
made  a  return,  and  shared  with  the  rest. 

The  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  was  to  convene 
again  at  New  Hampton  May  20th.  About  forty  Chris- 
tian friends,  on  their  way  through  Laconia,  had  fallen 
into  the  company  of  each  other,  and  arrived  at  the  farm- 
house of  Samuel  Crockett  just  before  noon.  He  kept 
"  pilgrim's  tavern,"  and  would  have  them  all  stop  and 
dine.  Two  hours  were  spent  in  either  cooking,  eating, 
singing,  prayer,  or  devout  conversation  ;  when,  man  and 
beast  being  refreshed,  they  journeyed  onward  to  the  Mer- 
edith church,  where  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  orchard  of 
Dea.  Pease.  By  the  time  they  were  ready  to  depart  the 
next  morning,  the  procession  numbered  one  hundred  strong, 
all  on  horseback,  constituting  an  imposing  and  holy  caval- 
cade. Randall  led  the  van,  and  a  couple  of  hours'  ride 
brought  them  to  the  place  of  meeting.  As  they  approach- 
ed, all  united  in  a  song  of  praise.  The  hills  and  woods 
resounded  with  the  song,  and  the  effect  upon  themselves 
and  those  at  the  house  of  God,  who  bade  them  welcome, 
was  peculiarly  impressive.  The  meeting  of  business  soon 
commenced,  and  "  the  most  beautiful  order  was  observed 
through  the  whole  audience,"  of  five  hundred  in  num- 
ber. As  they  reassembled  the  next  day,  it  is  said  that 
"  the  glory  of  God  so  filled  the  house  that  there  was  no 
room  to  enter  upon  business  for  the  space  of  two  hours 
and  upwards.     The  scene  was  indescribably  glorious." 

At  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  June,  the  intelligence  from 
New  Hampshire  and  Vermont  was  most  cheering.  An- 
other committee  was  sent  to  the  Unity  Quarterly  Meeting, 
protesting  against  the  "  exti-avagances  "  there  practised,, 
and  received  a  promise  of  reform. 
20 


230  NEW  HAMPSHIEE,  [1802, 

Rev.  Joseph  Quinby^  of  Sandwich,  was  at  this  Yearly 
Meeting,  seeking  an  acquaintance  with  the  Freewill  Bap- 
tists. Mr.  Jewell,  who  preached  alternately  with  him, 
was  a  decided  Calvinist,  and  several  times  summoned  his 
colleague  before  the  church  for  heresy  ;  but  he  was  always 
acquitted,  Dea.  Thomas  Colby,  the  father  of  Rev.  John 
Colby,  was  his  principal  defender.  The  Association  called 
Quinby  and  the  church  to  an  account,  and  Dea.  Colby,  un- 
willing to  have  his  minister  lose  the  confidence  of  his 
friends  by  a  violent  controversy,  said  to  him,  "  Youjpreach 
and  I'll  fight."  And  such  an  advocate  did  he  show  him- 
self to  be,  that,  being  a  man  of  exceedingly  curly  hair, 
the  moderator  said,  "  We  could  do  well  enough  if  it  was 
not  for  that  man  whose  hair  grows  into  his  head  at  both 
ends."  The  result  was  a  withdrawal  of  the  entire  church 
from  the  Calvinistic  Baptists,  in  1799,  save  Jewell  and 
three  or  four  others.  Quinby  now  requested  that  his 
church  and  people  might  be  farther  instructed  in  the  faith 
and  practice  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and,  after  Randall 
and  Martin  had  visited  them  for  that  purpose,  they  united 
with  the  Freewill  Baptists. 

Both  Randall  and  Stinchfield  preached  in  Dover  with 
good  success,  and  the  year  was  one  of  general  prosperity. 
The  additions  to  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting 
were  7  churches  and  635  members. 

The  vagaries  of  Ballard  culminated  in  1802.  His  in- 
discretions were  apparent  in  less  than  two  years  after  his 
ordination,  and  committees  were  sent  to  reprove  and  cau- 
tion him.  Ballard  confessed  to  Randall  that  he  "  supposed 
he  had  been  imprudent,  and  had  given  occasion  to  the  en- 
emies of  the  cause  to  cast  reproach  upon  it,"  and  promised 
to  reform.  But  it  was  a  promise  repeatedly  broken  ;  and, 
finding  that  a  crisis  was  approaching,  he  declared  his  in- 
dependence. 

The  copy  of  his  letter  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  covers 

1  He  had  been  preaching  free  doctrines  there  for  ten  years — was  or- 
dained in  1798. 


1802-]  JEREMIAH   BALLARD.  231 

three  and  a  half  pages  of  the  records,  and  the  following 
extracts  are  given,  not  so  much  to  show  the  rottenness  of 
the  faction,  as  the  soundness  of  the  body, 

"  Dear  Brethren : — These  lines  will  inform  you  of  the 
reasons  of  my  withdrawal  from  your  connection.  The 
chief  is,  that,  although  you  profess  to  have  no  other  disci- 
pline than  the  Scriptures,  yet  the  manner  of  your  putting 
it  in  force  appears  to  me,  in  many  instances,,  to  be  repug- 
nant thereto, 

"1.  Eld.  Randall,  who  is  said  to  be  the  first  and  chief 
among  you,  denies  to  a  travelling  preacher,  who  spends 
all  his  time  for  the  good  of  souls,  the  privilege  of  making 
his  circumstances  or  wants  known  to  his  brethren.  And 
denies  the  brethren  the  right  of  inquiring  about  the  same  ; 
asserting  that  the  former  and  latter  originate  in  covetous- 
ness  and  pride,  and  the  rankest  degree  of  '  hirelingism,' 
and  every  way  unscriptural."  [Randall,  who  copied  this 
letter  into  the  Yearly  Meeting  records,  appended  this  mar- 
ginal note  to  the  charge,  which  was  endorsed  by  the  Year- 
ly Meeting :  "  This  is  false,  and  what  Eld.  Randall  never 
advanced^  first  or  last"~\ 

"2.  The  government  is  not  in  the  right  place.  Eld. 
Randall,  to  show  his  unwillingness  that  ministers  should 
lord  it  over  God's  heritage,  has  taught  that  all  should 
speak,  and  all  vote.  By  Paul's  writings  it  appears  there 
were  men  called  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  rule,  and  the  peo- 
ple were  called  by  the  same  Holy  Ghost  to  submit  to  it. 

"  3.  I  don't  believe  the  ordinations  are  rightfully  man- 
aged, in  being  confined  to  times,  persons  and  places,  so  that 
if  the  persons  [councilj  fail,  the  one  to  be  ordained  must  be 
entirely  useless  in  that  respect,  and  the  work  of  God  suffers. 

"  4,  The  ministers  do  not  travel  in  order  as  Christ  sent 
them  out,  two  and  two. 

"5.  I  do  not  think  that  Randall  and  the  church  give  the 
liberty  in  worship  which  the  Scriptures  justify,  or  the 
Spirit  leads  to."  [A  marginal  note  in  the  record  says — 
**  That  is,  kissing,  dancing,  jumping,"  &c.J 


232  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1802. 

"  6.  More  burdensome  than  either  of  the  above,  is  the 
fact  that  Randall  and  the  church  declared  to  me  when  I 
joined,  that  they  held  to  open  communion  with  all  Chris- 
tians, but  now  refuse  those  holding  to  different  tenets." 
[A  note  says,  "  That  is,  to  Universalists."] 

"  Therefore  I  do  notify  you,  my  brethren,  that  I  have 
withdrawn  myself  from  your  visible  order,  and  wish  you 
to  give  yourselves  no  trouble  in  labor  about  the  matter, 
for  I  am  irrecoverably  gone." 

As  personal  efforts  and  repeated  committees  had  accom- 
plished nothing  towards  a  reform,  he  was  new  excluded. 

Ballard  had  almost  alone  gathered  the  churches  in  the 
Unity  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  for  two  or  three  years  had 
stood  side  by  side  with  his  brethren  in  every  good  word 
and  work,  endearing  himself  to  all.  But  his  mind  was 
not  well  balanced,  and  Satan,  taking  advantage  of  his 
weakness,  had  flattered  his  vanity  and  led  him  into  gross 
improprieties.  And  now,  the  honor  of  God  and  the  in- 
terests of  religion  were  more  precious  than  personal  friend- 
ship, or  the  remembrance  of  former  usefulness  ;  and  they 
stood  up  like  men,  and  said,  we  "  have  no  fellowship  with  the 
unfruitful  works  of  darkness."  A  few  unordained  preach- 
ers sympathized  with  him  for  a  time,  but  they  were  re- 
proved and  restored.  Most  of  the  churches  in  the  Unity 
Quarterly  Meeting  had  either  imbibed  his  spirit,  or  were 
discouraged  ;  and  the  Yearly  Meeting  annulled  its  organi- 
zation, advising  the  few  churches  that  had  any  vitality  to 
unite  elsewhere.  Ballard  soon  removed  to  Ohio,  where 
he  saw  the  error  of  his  ways,  and  became  an  exemplary 
man.  But  he  could  not  recall  his  pernicious  influence. 
Many  had  been  ready  to  follow  him  into  error,  that  did 
not  return  with  him  to  the  truth.  In  darkness  they  lived, 
in  sorrow  they  died.  Others  retained  their  standing  in 
the  church,  but  were  so  tainted  in  spirit  that  their  useful- 
ness was  almost  entirely  eclipsed. 

The  Quarterly  Meeting  was  held  for  the  first  time  at 


1803.]  DE,    DANA — EANDALL.  233 

Newbury,  in  August,  and  proved  a  very  great  blessing  to 
that  feeble  cburch  which  had  separated  from  the  Calvin- 
istic  Baptists  the  year  before.  Cheering  was  the  in- 
telligence of  revivals  in  Lebanon,  Meredith,  Giknanton, 
Canterbury  and  Deerfield.  The  Quarterly  Meeting  was 
now  in  excellent  order  and  discipline,  the  churches  were 
prompt  in  reporting,  and  revivals  were  frequent, 

Josiah  Magoon  and  Dr.  Simeon  Dana  were  ordained 
at  New  Hampton  December  8th.  Dana  was  a  native  of 
Lebanon,  studied  medicine,  and,  going  to  New  Hampton 
just  before  the  great  revival  in  1800,  proposed  to  settle  as 
a  physician,  saying  to  Magoon,  "  If  the  people  should  de- 
sire it,  I  will  teach  a  district  school,  singing  school,  or 
dancing  school."  He  was  told  that  his  services  in  the  last 
respect  would  not  be  wanted,  and,  being  one  of  the  first  to 
experience  religion,  for  more  than  half  a  century  he  lived 
in  town,  a  most  worthy  citizen,  successful  physician  and 
useful  minister. 

Early  on  the  first  day  of  the  year  1803,  EandaU  sought 
a  place  of  retirement,  and  not  only  reviewed  the  past  with 
thanksgiving,  and  rededicated  himself  to  God,  but  implor- 
ed Divine  wisdom  and  guidance  for  the  future.  And 
never  was  such  an  act  more  appropriate,  as  the  time  of 
trial  and  church  labor  had  commenced  in  New  Durham. 
The  strong  current  of  religious  interest  for  previous  years 
had  borne  into  the  church  some  who  had  not  carefuUy 
counted  the  cost  of  a  Christian  life,  and  others  who  had 
not  moral  principle  or  manly  firmness  sufficient  to  resist 
the  influences  for  evil.  One  after  another  was  summoned 
before  the  church,  and  not  unfrequently  several  were  on 
trial  at  a  time.  Their  work  as  a  church,  was  to  "  strength- 
en the  things  which  remain,  that  are  ready  to  die  ;"  and 
the  records  plainly  show  that,  in  the  effort,  true  Chris- 
tian kindness  was  happily  blended  with  firm,  dignified  re- 
proof. 

Hallibut  Herri ck  was  on  a  journey  to  Maine  with  his 
family,  and  at  Rochester  was  detained  by  the  sickness  and 
20* 


-     234  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [1803. 

death  of  a  small  child.  Randall  preached  the  funeral 
sermon  February  27th  ;  and  Mr.  Herrick  requested  a 
copy  of  the  discourse  for  publication.  It  was  written  as 
nearly  verbatim  as  possible,  and  immediately  published  ; 
and  was  republished  twenty-five  years  afterwards,  at  the 
Morning  Star  office.  As  this  is  the  only  sermon  of  the 
thousands  preached  by  him,  that  has  come  down  to  usj  a 
full  outline  is  here  given  : 

Text.  Luke  18  :  16,  "  Suffer  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not  ;  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  God." 

/.  The  Moral  State  of  Children. 

1.  Man  was  created  free  and  holy. 

2.  By  sin  Adam  became  guilty,  and  his  posterity  de- 
praved, 

3.  Christ  made  an  atonement  for  all. 

4.  It  restores  children  to  unconditional  mercy. 

5.  Depravity  implies  no  guilt,  till  one  voluntarily  yields 
to  its  tendency. 

6.  Hence,  "  little  children"  are  heirs  of  God. 

II.  Adults  must  he  Converted^  to  he  of  such  as  "  is  the 
kingdom  of  God." 

1.  All  have  sinned. 

2.  Regeneration  is  essential. 

3.  God  alone  can  change  the  heart. 

4.  Man  must  yield  his  will  to  God,  repent  and  be- 
lieve. 

5.  The  change  is  great  and  glorious. 

III.  The  Christian  is  Childlike. 
1.  He  is  free  from  condemnation. 

2^  Both  are  kept  by  God,  being  mortal,  tempted,  and 
prone  to  evil. 

3.  No  guilt  is  incurred,  but  in  a  voluntary,  sinful  act. 

4.  Christ  is  an  Advocate  for  both. 

IV.  "  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God." 
1.  All  little  children. 


1803.]  BUZZELL   AND   WATSON.  235 

2.  All  adults  who  repent,  believe,  and  become  child- 
like. 

Application. 

1.  This  doctrine  is  full  of  consolation. 

2.  It  is  so  to  these  afflicted  parents. 

3.  We  are  greatly  encouraged  to  seek  the  Lord. 

4.  Appeal  to  Sinners — to  Christians. 

The  churches  generally  were  enjoying  great  prosperity, 
and  Strafford,  Canterbury  and  Lebanon  reported  a  revival 
interest  at  every  Quarterly  Meeting  during  the  year,  so 
that  in  six  months  the  reported  additions  were  three  hun- 
dred and  thirty-three.  In  Madison  the  excitement  was 
almost  unparalleled,  sweeping  through  the  town  with  ir- 
resistible influence.  Deep  conviction  had  pervaded  the 
public  mind  for  a  considerable  time,  and  the  report  to  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  in  October  says,  "  By  the  first  of  Au- 
gust it  became  so  great  that  almost  the  entire  time,  day 
and  night,  was  spent  in  religious  exercises.  Reports 
having  gone  out,  people  from  various  towns  came  to  see 
for  themselves,  many  of  whom  were  struck  to  the  heart 
and  converted.  Profane  and  vicious  persons  came  to 
laugh  and  jest,  but,  under  the  mighty  power  of  God,  they 
fell  down,  lay  speechless  a  considerable  time,  and  then 
arose  in  praise  to  God.  Fifty-one  have  been  baptized  by 
Eld.  James  Jackson,  and  added  to  the  church,  and  the 
work  has  not  in  any  great  measure  abated,  only  it  is  more 
conformed  to  order." 

Hezekiah  D.  Buzzell  of  Gilmanton,  and  Elijah  "Watson 
of  Andover,  were  ordained  this  season  ;  and  devoted  their 
services  to  the  cause  of  Christ  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury. Buzzell  had  been  a  gay  leader  among  his  youth- 
ful companions,  and,  becoming  a  Christian,  he  led  many 
of .  them  to  Christ.  Watson  had  struggled  hard  in  his 
boyhood  against  the  depressing  influences  of  poverty — 
laboring  with  his  father  by  day,  and  reading  by  the  light 
of  pine  knots  at  night,  such  books  as  could  be  found  in 


236  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  [1804. 

the  neighborhood.  "When  seven  years  of  age,  he  earned 
coppers  enough  to  buy  a  Testament,  which  was  more  to 
him  than  the  most  extensive  library  would  have  been 
without  it.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  its  truths,  pray- 
ed over  it  in  secret,  and  even  then  commenced  preaching, 
often  in  tears,  though  his  audience  was  only  the  flock  in 
his  father's  yard. 

Mr.  Tollman  of  Troy,  father  of  the  late  Rev.  Benja- 
min Tollman,  was  a  Christian  man,  but  a  member  of  no 
church,  because  he  was  not  a  Calvinist.  Hearing  of  a 
young  man  in  Unity,  whose  preaching  was  spiritual,  and 
whose  doctrines  were  free,  he  sent  for  him  to  visit  Troy, 
and  preach  the  word  of  truth  in  that  part  of  the  State, 
The  young  man — Nathaniel  JMarshall — compKed,  and  an 
extensive  revival  was  enjoyed  in  Richmond.  He  was 
sent  to  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  in  October, 
for  ordination  ;  but  "  it  was  thought  incompatible  with 
duty  and  Scripture  to  ordain  a  minor,  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  his  father."  Rev.  Nathaniel  Webster  and  Timo- 
thy Morse  were  sent  to  Richmond,  where  some  thirty  or 
more  were  baptized,  and  a  church  was  organized.  The 
revival  continued  till  more  than  seventy  became  members, 
and  the  next  year  Marshall  was  ordained.  For  a  time  he 
was  an  humble  and  successful  preacher,  of  engaging  man- 
ners and  fluent  speech.  But  he  was  not  man  enough  to 
receive  the  people's  compliments  without  injury,  and  his 
early  promise  disappointed  their  future  hopes. 

Randall  took  cold  on  his  return  from  Maine  in  February, 
1804,  and  was  in  feeble  health  for  several  months.  A 
hard,  hoUow  cough,  and  a  hoarse,  husky  voice,  betrayed 
the  unsoundness  of  his  lungs,  and  awakened  the  apprehen- 
sion of  his  friends.  He  was  not  at  the  August  Quarterly 
Meeting  -vvith  the  Lebanon  church,  held  at  Dea.  Clark's, 
across  the  Connecticut,  in  Hartland,  Vt.,  but  he  sent  an 
epistle,  which  was  joyfully  received.  It  speaks  of  his 
feeble  health,  the  expectation  of  his  meeting  with  his 
brethren  no  more,  and  his  resignation  to  God's  wiU.     He 


1804.]  Randall's  illness.  237 

reviews  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  the  denomination,  and 
most  emphatically  expresses  his  confidence  in  their  cor- 
rectness. He  cautions  his  brethren  lest  a  desire  to  be 
great,  and  conform  to  the  world,  should  find  place  among 
them.  He  pleads  for  the  cause  in  Portsmouth,  and  asks 
the  prayers  of  Christians  in  his  behalf. 

The  reading  of  the  letter  awakened  the  deep  sympathies 
of  Dea.  Otis,  and  he  unburdened  his  mind  in  a  few  touch- 
ing remarks,  suggesting  "  that  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
would  consider  the  present  feeble  state  of  father  Eandall's 
health,  and  his  circumstances,  and  draw  from  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting  stock  some  stated  sum  of  money,  to  procure 
such  things  for  his  comfort  as  may  be  needed  in  his  sick- 
ness." Twenty  dollars  were  appropriated,  and  many 
fervent  prayers  were  then  offered  for  his  recovery.  At 
the  Yearly  Meeting  in  September,  continued  prayer  was 
made  for  him,  and  soon  he  was  convalescent.  He  was 
never  again  free  from  hoarseness  or  a  troublesome  cough, 
but  for  three  or  four  years  longer  he  led  the  hosts  of  active 
laborers. 

In  addition  to  other  expressions  of  kindness  towards 
Randall,  the  aforesaid  Quarterly  Meeting  chose  a  commit- 
tee to  investigate  reports  in  circulation  against  him.  They 
were  traced  to  a  member  of  the  church,  who  declared  to 
the  committee  that  "  the  connection  did  worship  Randall, 
and  got  down  upon  his  knees,  and  held  up  his  hands, 
to  show  how  they  pray  to  him.  He  also  said  that  if 
Randall  should  murder  a  man,  and  could  conceal  it,  he 
could  preach  the  next  day."  Such  malicious  charges  could 
not  be  endured,  and  he  was  immediately  rejected. 

The  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  was  then  the  only 
one  in  the  State,  and  it  was  advancing  with  great  pros- 
perity ;  five  churches  and  two  hundred  and  sixty-four 
members  being  received  the  present  year.  A  proposition 
was  made  to  divide  it,  but,  after  referring  the  question  to 
the  churches — thirty-six  in  number — it  was  decided  in  the 
negative. 


238  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [1804, 

In  the  midst  of  this  onward  career,  every  one  stood 
aghast  when  the  true  character  of  Simon  Pottle  was  pub- 
licly known.  His  life  had  never  been  entirely  "  unspotted 
from  the  world,"  but  it  was  his  secret  sins  that  grieved 
the  Spirit  from  his  heart ;  and,  being  left  of  God,  he  could 
but  fall,  though  in  the  midst  of  a  large  church,  and  sur- 
rounded by  confiding  friends.  At  the  Elders'  Conference 
in  May,  "  when  the  solemn  question,  in  the  fear  and 
dread  of  the  great  Jehovah,  was  put  to  him,  he  did  not 
ansAver  uprightly."  A  committee  of  ten  ordained  men 
went  to  Meredith,  and  the  investigation  showed  him  guilty 
of  very  great  improprieties,  if  not  of  actual  transgressions  ; 
and  the  church  was  advised  to  arise  and  sustain  the  meet- 
ings, independent  of  him.  The  Quarterly  Meeting  did 
not  see  fit  to  assume  the  responsibility  of  rejecting  one  on 
whom  ordaining  hands  had  been  laid,  and  it  was  referred 
to  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Parsonsfield,  where  he  was 
unanimously  excluded.  Randall  presided  on  the  occasion, 
was  deeply  affected,  and  made  the  declaration  in  tears, 
but  with  the  firmness  of  conscious  duty.  It  was  the  pur- 
pose of  the  fathers  to  make  such  events  impressive,  both 
upon  themselves  and  others ;  hence,  special  prayer  was 
always  offered  in  connection  with  the  rejection  of  a  mem- 
ber. 

The  Elders'  Conference  that  first  tried  Pottle  was  com- 
posed of  thirty  persons,  all  filled  with  sorrow  for  the 
wounded  cause,  and  shame  for  a  disgraced  brother.  Ran- 
dall was  there,  pale  and  sick  ;  but  suffering  more  in  soul 
than  in  body.  Wishing  to  profit  by  the  painful  example 
before  them,  Conference  requested  him  to  give  a  short  ad- 
dress to  the  young  ministers.  He  stood  before  them  as 
one  about  to  depart  for  the  spirit  land  ;  and  his  words  of 
counsel,  as  they  fell  from  quivering  lips,  were  received, 
not  only  as  paternal,  but  as  almost  apostolic.  If  in  word 
and  spirit  he  seemed  severe,  his  well  known  fidelity  to 
Christ  softened  every  expression,  and  gave  him  access  to 
every  heart. 


1805.J  LEGISLATIVE   ACTION.  239 

When  certificates  of  regular  attendance  at  a  Freewill 
Baptist  meeting  were  presented  to  a  parish  collector,  they 
were  often  disregarded,  under  the  plea  that  the  law  did 
not  recognize  any  such  meetings,  and  rather  than  have  a 
lawsuit,  the  minister  tax  was  paid.  Under  these  circum- 
stances a  proposition  was  submitted  to  the  churches  to 
know  their  opinion  as  to  the  propriety  of  petitioning  the 
Legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation  to  include  all  the 
Freewill  Baptists  in  the  State  ;  and  it  met  with  almost 
unanimous  favor.  The  subject  was  committed  to  six 
ruling  elders,  with  Randall  and  Tingley  for  advisers,  and 
after  general  arrangements  had  been  made,  was  left  with 
two  of  them,  John  Shepherd  and  Joseph  Young  of  Gil- 
manton,  to  attend  to  the  business.  They  took  legal  coun- 
sel, and  concluded  to  ask  only  for  the  passage  of  a  resolu- 
tion acknowledging  them  as  a  religious  denomination. 
The  request  was  granted  as  follows  : 

^^  Besolved,  That  the  people  of  this  State,  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  Freewill  Antipedo  Baptist  Church 
and  Society,  shall  be  considered  as  a  distinct  religious  sect 
or  denomination,  with  all  the  privileges  as  such,  agreeably 
to  the  Constitution." 

Here  ended  all  legal  opposition  to  those  Freewill  Bap- 
tists who  notified  the  Selectmen  of  their  unwillingness  to 
be  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  Congregationalists.  The 
Baptists,  Methodists,  and  Universalists  soon  obtained  a 
similar  recognition  of  themselves. 

Dr.  Ross  Coon  of  Haverhill,  a  man  of  considerable 
wealth  and  benevolence,  had  been  a  practising  physician 
for  nearly  forty  years.  He  had  been  accustomed  for  a 
iong  time  to  preach  occasionally,  and  becoming  acquainted 
with  the  Freewill  Baptists,  he  was  at  home  with  them, 
and  was  now  ordained,  though  his  age  was  more  than 
three  score  and  ten. 

All  the  sessions  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  1805 
were  interesting  seasons.     At  New  Hampton  in  Janu- 


240  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1806. 

ary,  there  was  "  much  exhortation  to  reach  after  holi- 
ness, which  was  very  quickening."  Randall  preached 
the  last  afternoon,  and  the  services  continued  "  until 
dark."  At  the  opening  of  the  August  session  in  Som- 
ersworth,  "praise,  prayer,  exhortations  and  acclamations 
of  joy,  were  heard  for  several  hours."  The  meeting  was 
then  organized  ;  but  under  a  temporary  covering  at  the 
door,  as  a  screen  from  the  sun,  hundreds  continued  their 
devotions  the  entire  day.  In  those  days  of  religious  in- 
terest, some  of  the  most  refreshing  seasons  were  enjoyed 
in  the  summer  months.  At  this  Quarterly  Meeting  Som- 
ersworth,  Alton,  Sandwich,  Salisbury  and  Richmond  re- 
ported from  twenty  to  forty  conversions  in  each  place. 
But  in  old  Gilmanton  the  three  churches  were  most  won- 
derfully blessed.  In  the  first  church,  under  the  labors  of 
H.  D.  Buzzell,  the  reformation,  for  a  time,  bore  down  all 
before  it.  Midsummer  as  it  was,  meetings  were  frequent 
both  days  and  evenings,  and  many  were  brought  to  re- 
joice in  the  Lord.  In  the  second  church  the  work  was 
scarcely  less  powerful,  and  in  the  third  [now  Gilford], 
under  the  labors  of  Martin,  one  hundred  and  thirty  had 
been  converted. 

Randall  closes  his  journal  for  this  year,  by  saying,  "  I 
have  travelled  two  thousand  and  ninety  miles,  and  attended 
two  hundred  and  eighty-three  meetings." 

The  Yearly  Meeting  in  New  Durham,  1806,  was  one 
of  great  interest.  On  the  Sabbath  public  worship  "  began 
early  and  held  all  day  without  intermission."  John  Buz- 
zell preached  in  the  morning,  and  EKas  Smith  in  the 
afternoon.  As  the  people  could  not  be  accommodated  in 
the  house,  two  sermons  were  also  preached  to  the  multi- 
tude about  the  door.  John  Buzzell  preached  the  after- 
noon sermon,  and  it  was  one  of  great  power,  while  Smith 
was  carrying  everything  before  him  in  the  house,  where 
the  excitement  was  so  great  that  individuals  "  broke  in 
upon  him  frequently."  The  meeting  was  held  in  Randall's 
orchard  the  next  day,  and  the  attendance  was  very  large. 


1807.]  QUARTEKLT  MEETING.  241 

"  Preaching  and  exhorting,  prayer  and  praise,  in  a  num- 
ber of  companies  about  the  orchard,"  continued  through 
the  day  without  intermission.  It  was  June  16th,  the  day 
of  "  the  great  eclipse."  "  As  the  dark  gloom  came  over 
the  face  of  nature,"  sinners  were  cited  to  that  awful  day 
when  God  would  hide  his  face  from  unbelievers,  and  a 
darker  gloom  than  that  of  a  total  eclipse  would  gather 
round  their  guilty  souls.  The  power  of  God  attended  the 
word  of  exhortation,  and  "  sinners  fell  to  the  ground  and 
cried  for  mercy  in  all  directions."  Many  found  pardon, 
and  loud  were  the  acclamations  of  praise  to  God.  To- 
wards night  all  Christians  sat  down  together  and  received 
the  Lord's  supper ;  after  which  many  of  them  attended  to 
the  "  washing  of  the  saints'  feet."  Thus  passed  the  day 
that  Elias  Smith  said  "  was  the  most  solemn  and  awful 
time  I  had  ever  witnessed." 

At  the  May  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Sandwich,  Randall 
preached  one  of  his  great  sermons,  and  the  people  were  so 
awakened  that  they  "  filled  up  the  whole  time  till  night." 
The  October  session  was  held  at  Richmond,  for  the  first 
time.  Revivals  were  reported  from  New  Durham,  Sand- 
wich, Madison  and  Ossipee.  At  the  last  named  place  the 
revival  continued  gradually,  and  with  but  little  interrup- 
tion, for  five  years. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1807,  Randall,  in 
feeble  health,  was  at  Sutton,  in  sweet  counsel  with  his 
brethren  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting.  He  preached  in  the 
morning  of  the  last  day  from  John  14  :  1,  "  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,"  &c.  The  record  says  "  it  was  a  very 
enlightening^  convicting  and  edifying  discourse  ;  and  the 
whole  day  was  filled  up  with  prayer,  praise,  exhortation,^ 
weeping  and  rejoicing.  The  glory  of  God  filled  the  place. 
Halleluja.h.  '  Praise  ye  the  Lord.'  "  Such  was  the  pow- 
er with  which  he  often  spoke  (some  say  usually) ,  that  he 
would  lead  the  spiritual  Christian  into  the  very  presence 
chamber  of  the  great  Jehovah.  And  he  would  pour  the 
21 


242  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [1807. 

light  of  gospel  truth  so  fully  upon  the  sinner's  mind,  that 
he  could  not  fail  to  see  and  feel  his  need  of  religion. 

At  the  Yearly  Meeting  on  the  Sabbath,  John  and  Aaron 
Buzzell  preached  to  a  crowded  house,  and  Stinchfield  and 
H.  D.  Buzzell  preached  to  a  much  larger  audience  on  the 
green,  in  front  of  the  house.  "  The  whole  day  presented 
a  scene  of  glory  and  power  ;  sinners  trembled  and  saints 
rejoiced."  Revivals  were  enjoyed  in  Deerfield,  Strafford, 
Durand  [now  Randolph],  and  some  other  places. 

An  opposing  faction  came  into  notice  this  year,  called 
Osgoodites,  from  Jacob  Osgood  of  Warner,  who  was  their 
leader.  He  was  a  member  of  no  church,  but  his  doctrin- 
al views  and  sympathies  were  generally  with  the  Freewill 
Baptists.  A  proposition  for  his  ordination  was  declined, 
under  the  circumstances,  and  soon  he  and  his  followers  re- 
nounced all  faith  in  ordinations,  church  organizations,  and 
gospel  ordinances.  They  claimed  to  be  "  the  saints,"  and 
it  was  a  part  of  their  religion  to  denounce  all  denomina- 
tions in  general,  and  the  Freewill  Baptists  in  particular. 
In  connection  with  much  that  seemed  spiritual  in  their 
worship,  they  indulged  in  low  and  personal  remarks,  ob- 
jectionable songs,  and  finally  in  kissing  and  dancing.  Af- 
ter an  inglorious  career  of  more  than  forty  years,  Osgood 
died,  and  the  surviving  adherents  were  scattered. 

Rev.  David  Knowlton,  Jr.,  of  Barnstead,  discontin- 
ued his  ministerial  labors  in  the  preceding  year,  and,  dur- 
ing the  winter,  it  was  evident  that  consumption  was  doing 
its  fearful  work.  At  the  earnest  solicitations  of  his  father 
and  brother,  both  of  whom  were  ministers,  he  was  re- 
moved to  his  father's  in  Pittsfield,  where  Randall  visited 
him,  March  9th.  He  was  distressed  in  body,  but  peace- 
ful in  mind,  just  ready,  and  even  longing,  to  depart  and  be 
with  Christ.  Randall  was  strongly  attached  to  the  Knowl- 
tons,  and  to  see  one  of  their  number,  a  promising  young 
man,  27  years  of  age,  called  away  from  the  whitened  har- 
vest ;  and  to  see  the  support  that  religion  afforded  in  such 


1807.]  ranball's  last  sickness.  243 

a  trying  hour,  was  too  much  for  his  sympathetic  nature  to 
bear  unaffected  ;  but  all  were  comforted  with  the  Chris- 
tian's hope.  The  dying  man  lingered  but  two  days  on 
these  mortal  shores,  and  Randall  was  again  there  on  the 
14th.,  preaching  his  funeral  sermon  from  Num.  23  : 
10,  "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my 
last  end  be  like  his."  "  Six  ministers  bore  him  to  the 
grave,  another  walked  with  ^nd  supported  the  afflicted 
widow,  and  about  one  thousand  persons  followed  in  the 
procession."  So  dies  the  good  man,  beloved  and  deplored. 
In  the  case  of  Knowlton  especially,  did  his  works  follow 
him.  His  joyful  sickness  and  triumphant  death  showed 
what  religion  could  do  ;  and  his  associates,  unable  to  with- 
stand the  conviction  yet  longer,  that  they  too  needed  sus- 
taining grace,  sought  the  Lord  in  great  numbers. 

For  thirty  years  Benjamin  Randall  was  the  great 
champion  in  supporting  the  doctrines  of  general  atone- 
ment, conditional  election  and  perseverance,  free  commun- 
ion, and  the  voluntary  support  of  the  ministry.  With 
these  characteristic  doctrines  inscribed  on  his  banner,  he 
had  founded  a  denomination  upon  "  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner 
stone."  Its  inner  and  outer  life  had  been  developed  un- 
der his  moulding  hand  and  fostering  care,  for  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  till  it  had  become  one  of  the  great 
and  permanent  denominations  of  northern  New  England. 
We  have  seen  how  its  founder  has  lived,  and  few  will  be 
satisfied  without  knowing  how  he  died.  A  few  pages  will 
here  be  appropriated  to  a  brief  review  of  the  last  fifteen 
months  of  his  earthly  scenes. 

For  a  few  years  an  increasing  pallor  of  countenance 
and  hoarseness  of  voice  had  been  observed,  and  his  deep, 
hollow  cough  had  reminded  friends  that  his  days  were  fast 
numbering.  Nor  was  he  insensible  of  the  fact,  or  less 
assiduous  in  labor.  As  chairman  of  an  ordaining  council 
to  Ashby,  Mass.,  he  rode  a  hundred  miles  under  the  burn- 
ing rays  of  a  July  sun,  and  preached  three  times  the  Sab- 


244  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [1807. 

bath  following.  Soon  after  retiring  he  was  attacked  with 
hemorrhage  of  the  lungs,  and  continued  bleeding  moder- 
ately through  the  night.  The  next  day  he  was  quite  weak, 
sat  up  but  little  in  the  forenoon,  and  raised  blood  occa- 
sionally ;  but,  in  the  afternoon,  according  to  appointment, 
he  attended  the  ordination  of  Stephen  Gribson,  and,  haz- 
ardous as  it  was,  not  only  preached  the  sermon,  but  made 
the  consecrating  prayer  and  gave  the  charge. 

His  journey  home  was  made  in  pain,  but  enlivened  by 
pleasant  interviews  with  friends  on  the  way.  In  London- 
derry he  dined  with  Gen.  Stark,  of  Revolutionary  memo- 
ry, and  freely  explained  to  him  the  doctrinal  views  of  the 
Freewill  Baptists.  As  he  was  about  leaving,  after  a  long 
and  agreeable  conversation,  the  hero  of  Bennington  took 
him  by  the  hand,  and  in  tears  said,  "  God  bless  you  !  I 
am  an  old  man  of  eighty  years,  and  shall  stay  here  only  a 
little  while  ;  but  my  wife  is  younger  than  I,  and  will 
probably  outlive  me.  I  shall  charge  her  and  my  son,  ever 
to  receive  you,  and  treat  you  respectfully."  The  gener- 
ous old  soldier  was  mistaken  in  his  expectations,  for  he 
survived  his  honored  guest  a  dozen  years. 

On  reaching  home,  Randall  was  greatly  prostrated  ;  the 
best  medical  aid  was  called  ;  and  another  attack  of  exces- 
sive bleeding  convinced  him  that  all  farther  labors  for  the 
present  would  be  suicidal.  The  Quarterly  Meeting  was 
approaching,  and  not  knowing  when  he  should  meet  his 
brethren  again,  he  Avrote  a  very  kind  and  paternal  letter ,2 
from  which  we  take  the  following  extracts  : 

"  The  cause  of  God  is  mine.  My  soul's  care  and  de- 
light are  to  see  it  prosper.  I  married  the  connection  in 
early  life,  and  in  that  sense  it  is  my  spouse  ;  and,  when 
able,  have  spared  no  labor,  either  of  body  or  mind,  night 
or  day,  cold  or  hot,  far  or  near,  for  the  advancement  of 
the  same  ;  but  my  labors  are  almost  over,  and  I  am  about 
to  receive  my  crown.     I  will  take  the  freedom  to  give  a 

The  entire  letter  is  in  Buzzell's  Life  of  Randall. 


1807,]  kandall's  last  sickness.  245 

word  of  advice,  as  a  father  to  his  children,  though  with 
humility  and  respect. 

First,  to  my  dear  brethren  in  the  ministry  :  We  are  on 
an  eminence,  in  a  certain  sense,  like  a  city  on  a  hill ;  all 
eyes  are  on  us.  "We  profess  to  be  the  representatives  of 
Jesus  Christ.  O,  let  us  consider  what  an  example  he  set 
for  his  ambassadors  to  follow.  What  humility  !  what 
meekness  !  what  holiness  !  what  self-denial  I  what  separa- 
tion from  the  world  !  yea,  and  every  thing  that  is  amiable 
and  lovely.  For  thirty  years  I  have  been  making  obser- 
vations on  ministers  of  all  denominations,  our  own  as  well 
as  others,  and  many,  when  they  first  come  into  the  minis- 
try, feel  some  good  degree  of  humility ;  yet  how  soon  do 
they  begin  to  feel  self-important,  think  themselves  some- 
thing great,  and  conform  to  the  world.  For  Christ's  sake, 
my  brethren,  let  us  be  little,  humble,  cross-bearing  disci- 
ples. O,  beware  of  schisms  and  rents  ;  be  not  of  such  as 
cause  divisions  ;  but  mark  such,  and  turn  away  from 
them.     United  we  stand,  but  divided  we  fall," 

Randall  was  soon  convalescent,  and  his  active  yet  con- 
secrated spirit  would  allow  him  no  rest  but  in  his  Mas- 
ter's service.  In  company  with  Knowlton,  he  attended 
the  Yearly  Meeting  at  Westport,  Me.,  in  September,  and 
presided  for  the  last  time.  He  sat  with  delight  in  the 
meetings  of  worship  on  the  Sabbath.  He  remained  a  few 
days  with  his  son-in-law,  Stephen  Parsons,  being  much  of 
the  time  "  exceedingly  distressed  for  breath,  and  afflicted 
with  a  violent  cough  ;"  and,  yet,  he  preached  once  at 
Woolwich. 

He  continued  his  active  labor,  visiting  and  preaching 
occasionally  about  home,  and,  in  November,  attended  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  Gorham,  Me.  In  the  Elders'  Confer- 
ence he  was  very  happy,  gave  much  good  advice,  and 
"  made  fervent  supplication  to  God  for  his  blessing  upon 
the  connection."  It  was  his  last  interview  with  his  breth- 
ren, and  it  was  so  regarded  at  the  time,  by  him  and  them  ; 
consequently,  the  more  solemn  and  impressive, 
21* 


246  NEW  HAMPSHIBE.  [1808. 

He  was  afterwards  alternately  better  and  worse,  some 
days  confined  to  the  house,  others,  out  visiting  and  preach- 
ing. Feeble  and  sick  as  he  was,  he  closes  his  diary  for 
the  year  with  this  entry:  "Here  ends  my  journal  for 
1807  ;  having  travelled  only  2593  miles,  and  having  been 
so  much  unwell,  I  have  attended  only  203  public  meet- 
ings, besides  weddings  and  funerals." 

After  the  middle  of  January  he  was  confined  to  the 
house  ;  and  to  his  bed  most  of  the  time  after  February. 
His  cough  became  still  more  distressing,  and  all  hopes  of 
recovery  were  relinquished.  He  wrote  a  little,  sitting  in 
bed,  read  much,  and  conversed  with  all  his  friends  ;  and 
they  were  many  who  visited  him  in  his  last  sickness.  It 
was  his  delight  to  "  search  the  Scriptures  ;"  noting  the 
promises,  and  reestablishing  himself  in  the  doctrines  he 
had  preached  for  thirty  years.  While  his  body  was  wast- 
ing away,  his  mind  retained  its  usual  vigor  and  clearness  ; 
and,  says  BuzzeU,  "  He  was  remarkably  exercised  with  a 
care  for  the  prosperity  of  the  connection.  He  often  ex- 
pressed a  fear  that  they  would  grow  popular,  and  conform 
to  the  world,  as  other  denominations  had  done.  And  that 
by  unwatchfulness  they  might  let  in  among  them,  and  fel- 
lowship those  who  hold  and  preach  doctrines  inconsistent 
with  the  word  of  God."  This  anxiety  led  him  to  address 
a  long  letter  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  it  here  follows, 
with  the  omission  of  some  introductory  remarks,  and  a 
part  of  his  argument  against  annihilation.  He  enters  in- 
to full  sympathy  with  his  brethren,  and  greatly  magnifies 
the  grace  of  God,  and  the  ministerial  office. 

"  New  Durham,  May  14,. 1808. 
"  To  the  Baptist  Quarterly  Meeting  to   he  held  at  Ando- 
ver,  N.  H. 
"  My  very  dear  Brethren  and  Friends  : — 

I  feel  to  bless  God  that  I  am  permitted  once  more 
to  write  you  as  a  disciple  of  Jesus.  *  *  *  May  the 
God  of  grace  and  consolation  manifest  his  presence  and 


1808.]  RANDALL'S   LAST   LETTER.  247 

power  in  your  midst,  and  so  roll  the  weiglit  of  his  cause 
upon  your  souls,  that  you  will  not  meet  only  to  salute 
each  other  and  rejoice  together  ;  but  that  you  may  feel 
impressed  to  consider  the  state  of  the  connection  in  general, 
and  not  only  consider  and  talk  about  it,  but  to  actually 
take  some  measures  to  rectify  the  irregularities,  and  re- 
move the  disorders  prevalent.  I  am  now  a  prisoner  as 
to  my  body,  and  have  been  for  four  months  past,  lacking 
a  few  days,  and  none  know  (unless  by  experience)  what 
distress  and  affliction  I  have  undergone  ;  but,  blessed  be 
the  God  of  all  grace,  I  have  a  comfortable  soul.  My 
mind  has  been  much  exercised  about  the  cause  of  God  in 
general ;  I  have  been  led  into  the  chambers  of  imagery, 
and  have,  clearer  than  ever,  seen  how  eagerly  men  will 
catch  at  a  word  or  doctrine  that  they  imagine  is  Scrip- 
tural, and  will  stream  away  with  it,  preaching  to  others, 
and  proselyting,  without  examining  the  Scriptures  partic- 
ularly on  the  subject.  This  has  caused  me  to  search  the 
Bible,  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  a  number  of  times, 
and  collect  a  large  catalogue  of  texts  for  the  information 
and  confirmation  of  my  own  mind. 

"  I  am  sensible  that  our  field  is  sown  with  mingled 
seed — I  mean,  there  are  preachers  belonging  to  the  con- 
nection, who  preach  doctrines  different  one  from  the  oth- 
er; and  these  things  ought  not  so  to  be.  Some  are  ear- 
nest in  preaching  the  impossibility  of  falling  from  grace,  a 
doctrine  (without  doubt  to  me)  which  has  destroyed  its 
thousands,  and  is  so  contrary  to  Scripture  and  to  that 
maintained  by  this  connection,  as  a  people,  that  I  think 
the  man  who  persists  in  preaching  it,  should  be  noted  as 
not  belonging  to  us. 

"  Again,  there  is  that  new-fangled  doctrine — the  final 
end  of  the  wicked  (or  that  they  will  finally  cease  to  be) — 
preached  by  some,  said  to  be  of  this  connection,  which  I 
think  should  not  be  allowed.  My  dear  brethren,  I  appeal 
to  you,   if  this  is  not  the  very  doctrine  the  carnal  mind 


248  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  [1808. 

wants  to  be  true.  Were  I  to  believe  it,  I  should  tremble 
lest  tbat  life  for  which  I  hav«  been  so  many  years  hunger- 
ing, thirsting,  panting,  and  crying,  would  have  an  end 
also.  Both  states  have  the  same  duration,  and  when  one 
has  an  end,  both  vrill.  *  *  *  The  time  was,  when 
but  one  doctrine — the  doctrine  of  Jesus — was  known. 
Our  preachers  were  content  to  be  humble,  plain  men.  O 
when  shall  I  see  such  a  season  again  !  O  when  shall  I 
see  ministers  travelling  in  spirit,  with  agony  of  soul,  go- 
ing softly  and  saluting  no  man  by  the  way  ! 

"  0  my  blessed  brethren,  I  know  your  work  is  great, 
you  need  Divine  wisdom  and  strength — nothing  less  is 
sufficient.  I  know  your  trials  are  many,  within  and  with- 
out ;  also  your  fears,  lest  you  should  not  do  your  work 
right.  And  you  go  to  it  trembling,  being  sensible  of  its 
greatness  and  your  weakness.  But,  brethren,  be  not  dis- 
couraged ;  the  Lord  will  stand  by  you,  and  give  you 
strength  equal  to  your  day.  Only  trust  in  him,  he  will 
be  all  that  you  need  in  every  state,  glory  to  his  blessed 
name.  I  must  set  my  seal  and  say,  I  have  been  married 
to  Jesus  almost  thirty-eight  years,  and  have  been  in  the 
ministry  thirty-one,  and  have  found  him  in  every  state  all 
that  I  needed.  And  blessed,  blessed  be  his  wonder- 
working name,  I  do  to  the  present  moment.  I  know  the 
grace  of  God  can  and  will  do  all  for  the  soul  that  it  needs, 
in  time  and  eternity.  It  is  everything  in  sickness  and  in 
health.  It  has  been  wonderful  to  me  in  all  my  long  and 
tedious  confinement.  It  has  made  my  prison  a  palace, 
and  I  have  never  had  one  minute's  discontentment  or  im- 
patience. Neither  have  I  thought  the  time  long,  such 
has  been  the  presence  of  God's  overpowering  love.  I  am 
confirmed  more  and  more  in  the  doctrines  the  Lord  gave 
me  to  preach,  am  strong  in  the  faith  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  am  now  sitting,  waiting  for  the  will  of  my 
Father,  whatever  it  may  be,  in  life  or  death.  And  I  know 
that  he  will  do  right. 


1808.]  Randall's  last  letter.  249 

"  O  ye  ministers  of  Jesus,  how  happy  is  your  lot ! 
How  glorious  is  your  reward,  not  only  hereafter,  but 
here.  Never  speak  a  complaining  word.  Why,  bless 
God,  there  is  no  state  attainable  this  side  of  glory,  so 
heavenly  as  when  a  minister  of  Jesus  is  wholly  given  up 
to  the  government  of  the  Spirit,  and,  with  the  approbation 
of  God,  is  preaching  the  blessed  tidings  of  salvation  to 
poor,  perishing  sinners.  Lord,  what  a  heaven  of  heavens 
it  is !  How  my  soul  is  enraptured  when  I  call  to  mind 
the  glory  I  have  had  in  the  ministry  !  This  is  reward 
enough  to  wear  out  a  thousand  lives,  long  as  the  longest. 
Ah  !  take,  take  the  world  in  welcome,  ye  mercenary  hire- 
lings ;  ye  who  preach  for  the  sake  of  a  living,  with  your 
lean,  sordid  souls  ;  and  let  me  have  the  infinite  reward  of 
preaching  for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  welfare  of  souls, 
if  I  beg  my  bread  barefoot  to  heaven.  Cheer  up,  cheer 
up,  ye  poor,  rich — ^weak,  strong — trembling,  courageous 
ministers  of  Jesus — ^the  blessed  Jesus — and  not  only  wear 
out,  but  rejoice  in  it. 

"  I  am  a  poor,  old,  worn  out  servant ;  and  here  I  sit 
and  see  my  flesh  gone,  and  bones  project,  and  rejoice  that 
I  have  the  testimony  of  my  conscience  that  I  have  worn 
out  in  so  blessed  a  cause.  Though  I  know  it  would  be 
blessed  to  depart,  yet  I  think  I  would  be  willing  to  stay 
on  these  low  grounds,  until  I  wore  out  life  after  life  in 
such  blessed  employment.  I  think  now,  if  I  had  only  my 
lungs  and  voice,  however  weak  my  body,  I  would  blow 
the  gospel  trumpet  until  I  died  in  the  blessed  work.  But 
the  will  of  the  Lord  be  done.     Amen. 

"  O  sinner,  rouse,  rouse  soon,  or  you  will  be  eternally 
undone.  This  is  my  last  call  to  you  (perhaps),  tiU  I 
meet  you  at  the  judgment-seat,  as  a  swift  witness  against 
you.  0  backslider,  return  soon,  or  be  damned.  O  un- 
faithful, slothful  preachers,  I  tremble  for  you.  O  trem- 
ble, tremble  for  yourselves  ;  for  if  you  die  so,  great  will 
be  your  condemnation.  O  saints,  arise  and  shine.  Hold 
on,   and  hold   out,  and  I  will  meet  you  soon  in   glory. 


250  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  [180S. 

Pray  as  the  Spirit  directs,  for  your  poor,  unworthy  Ben- 
jamin, 

"  I  die,  your  servant, 

For  Christ's  sake, 

Benj'n  Randall." 

Comments  will  only  detract  from  this  letter,  so  full  of 
interest,  and  worthy  of  prayerful  consideration.  It  was  a 
solemn,  weeping,  and  yet  rejoicing  time  in  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  when  this  dying  testimony,  these  last  words  of 
counsel  and  congratulation,  were  read.  An  answer  was 
immediately  voted,  and  Eev.  William  Dana  was  appoint- 
ed to  draft  it ;  but  no  copy  has  been  preserved. 

The  New  Durham  Monthly  Meetings,  in  March,  April, 
and  May,  were  held  at  Randall's  house,  and  were  re- 
freshing seasons,  especially  the  last,  when  H.  D.  Buzzell 
was  present,  and  the  Lord's  supper  was  administered. 
He  was  often  visited  by  those  who  had  profited  by  his  in- 
struction, and  his  wants  were  supplied  by  their  liberal 
contributions.  And  the  interview  amply  repaid  them  for 
their  kindness,  since, 

"  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate, 
Is  privileg'd  beyond  the  common  walk 
Of  virtuous  life,  quite  in  the  verge  of  heaven." 

A  brother  in  the  ministry  once  said  to  him,  "  Don't 
you  expect  that  when  you  leave  this  body,  you  will  be  re- 
warded for  all  your  labor  here  below?"  "No,  blessed 
be  God !"  said  he,  "  the  Lord  is  not  in  debt  to  me.  I 
expect  to  go  to  heaven  when  I  die,  but  I  don't  expect  to 
enjoy  heaven  as  a  reward  for  my  labors.  I  have  had  my 
reward  all  the  way  as  I  came  along,  and  expect  the  joys 
of  heaven  will  be  gratis."  Free  Grace  was  his  theme, 
living  and  dying- 

His  wasting  body  was  tenacious  of  life,  and  he  long 
survived  the  expectations  of  all.  But  his  work  was  done, 
and  every  arrangement  for  the  funeral  had  been  made  un- 


1808.J  RANDALL'S  DEATH.  251 

der  his  own  direction,  even  the  preparation  of  his  grave- 
clothes.  The  frosty  nights  of  autumn  had  come,  and 
every  hour  was  liable  to  be  his  last.  He  said,  "  All  I 
wait  for  is  my  Saviour's  command ;  and  my  soul  will 
then  leave  this  body."  These  words  were  his  last.  "  The 
chariot  of  Israel  and  the  horsemen  thereof"  were  at  the 
door,  the  summons  came,  and  he  was  not,  for  God  took 
him.     He  died  October  22d,  1808,  aged  59. 

The  funeral  services  were  on  the  26th.,  when  a  ser- 
mon was  delivered  by  John  Buzzell,  from  2  Tim.  4 : 
7,  8,  "I  have  fought  a  good  fight ;  I  have  finished  my 
course  ;  I  have  kept  the  faith  ;  henceforth  there  is  laid 
up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day  ;  and  not  to 
me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing."  ^ 

Seventeen  ministers  were  present.  Six  of  the  oldest 
bore  his  remains  to  the  place  of  their  final  rest ;  one 
walked  with  the  bereaved  widow,  and  the  others  followed 
the  relatives,  with  the  church,  his  physicians,  civil  and 
military  officers,  his  townsmen,  and  a  numerous  train  of 
sympathizing  friends  from  abroad.  The  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing record  says,  "  The  collection  of  people  was  such  as 
had  never  been  seen  in  this  part  of  the  country  at  a 
funeral ;  it  was  like  one  of  our  Yearly  Meetings."  His 
biographer  says,  "  It  was  the  most  solemn  scene  I  ever 
witnessed  ;  and  reminded  me  of  the  funeral  mentioned  in 
Acts  8:2,'  Devout  men  carried  Stephen  to  his  burial, 
and  made  great  lamentation  over  him.'  "  His  grave  was 
in  the  beautiful  family  burying  ground,  prepared  in  his 
own  field  on  New  Durham  Ridge,  where  the  common 
marble  slab  told  the  place  of  his  interment,  and  two  or 
three  simple  facts  of  his  life  and  death.  After  fifty  years 
had  passed  away,  and  most  of  his  colaborers  were  also 
gone,  the  connection,  in  its  grateful  appreciation  of  his 

^  By  request  this  sermon  was  prepared  for  the  press,  but  never  pub- 
lished. 


252  NEW  HA3IPSHIRE.  [1809. 

heroic  and  saintly  labors,  placed  a  suitable  Monument  on 
the  spot.  It  is  of  the  best  Italian  marble,  ten  feet  in 
height,  standing  upon  a  large  granite  block.  On  the 
four  sides  of  the  shaft  are  suitable  and  extended  inscrip- 
tions. 

But  little  remains  to  be  said  of  the  reverend  founder  of 
the  Freewill  Baptists.  His  possessions,  as  estimated  by 
the  church  assessors  the  year  before  his  death,  were 
$500, — consisting  of  a  small  house  and  a  few  acres  of 
land.  His  treasure  was  in  heaven.  His  counsels  were 
wise ;  his  reproofs  well  deserved ;  his  doctrines  were 
orthodox  ;  and  his  preaching  was  powerful.  He  was  kind 
in  spirit,  strong  in  sympathy,  controlling  in  influence,  and 
abundant  in  labor.  His  integrity  was  incorruptible,  and 
his  industry  almost  incredible.  He  lived,  not  for  him- 
self, but  his  race  and  his  God.  And,  with  a  palm  of 
victory  and  a  crown  of  glory,  he  lives  forever. 

The  year  1809  was  one  of  revivals  in  many  churches, 
particularly  Jackson,  Albany,  Sand-vvich,  Ossipee,  Mid- 
dleton.  New  Durham,  Stratford  and  Pittsfield. 

Chueches  Organized.  In  1800,  Bradford,  Bridge- 
water,  EUsworth,  Meredith,  New  Hampton,  New  Castle, 
and  Thornton  ;  1801,  Lebanon,  Newbury,  Somersworth, 
and  Sutton  ;  '02,  Brookfield,  Deerfield,  and  Madison ; 
'03,  Andover,  Barnstead,  and  Richmond ;  '04,  Second 
Bridgewater,  and  Jackson  ;  '05,  Alton,  Piermont,  Spring- 
field, and  Troy ;  '06,  Ossipee,  and  Weare  ;  '07,  Salis- 
bury ;  '08,  Second  New  Hampton ;  '09,  Croydon. 

Ordinations.  In  1800,  Israel  Blake  and  Joshua 
Quinby  ;  '02,  Simeon  Dana,  Abner  Jones,  and  Josiah 
Magoon ;  '03,  Hezekiah  D.  Buzzell,  David  Knowlton,  Jr., 
Abijah  Watson,  and  Elijah  Watson ;  '04,  Ross  Coon, 
William  Dana,  Samuel  B.  Dyer,  Daniel  Elkins,  Nathan- 
iel Marshall,  and  Timothy  Morse  ;  '05,  Ebenezer  Knowl- 
ton, M.  Hollman  Rollins,  John  Stone,  and  Nathaniel 
Wilson  ;    '06,  William  Buzzell  and  Caleb  Ingalls ;    '07, 


1809.]  STATISTICS.  253 

Stephen  Gibson  ;  '08,  David  Bean,  Christopher  Bul- 
lock, and  Josiah  Shepherd  ;  '09,  Moses  Cheney  and  Wil- 
liam Dodge. 

Deaths.     The  only  ministers  known  to  have  died  dur- 
ing this  decade  were  David  Knowlton,  Jr.,  in  1807,  and 
Benjamin  Randall,  in  1808. 
22 


254  VERMONT   AND   CANADA.  [1800- 


CHAPTER  XII. 

VERMONT  AND  CANADA. 

1800—1810. 

Randall  in  Vermont — Joseph  Boody,  Jr., — The  Praying  Boy — Joseph 
Boody,  Sen. — ^Babcock — Place — Buzzell — Hard"vviek  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing— Strafford  Quarterly  Meeting — Bro^vn  and  King  Ordained — Hard- 
wick  Quarterly  Meeting  Received — Hatley  and  Stanstead  —  First 
Church  in  Canada — Quarterly  Meeting — Moulton  Ordained — Yearly 
Meeting — Trials  in  Hardwick  Quarterly  Meeting — Churches  Organiz- 
ed— Ordinations. 

Early  in  the  year  1800  Randall  went  to  Vermont,  where 
he  saw  the  cause  of  Christ  in  prosperity,  and  in  the  north- 
em  part  of  the  State,  where  Joseph  Boody,  Jr.,  was  labor- 
ing, several  churches  were  organized.  Boody  preached  ex- 
tensively, anoid  great  opposition.  At  a  place  near  Mont- 
pelier,  scandalous  reports  had  preceded  him,  and  no  man 
would  open  his  doors  for  a  meeting,  or  furnish  refresh- 
ment for  himself  or  beast. 

The  Avife  and  children  of  a  wicked  man  in  "Wolcott  be- 
came interested  in  religion,  and  were  forbidden  to  attend 
meeting,  or  sing  and  pray  at  home.  The  father  soon 
overheard  his  little  son,  a  stammering  boy  of  thirteen,  in 
prayer.  His  wrath  was  kindled,  and  James  was  ordered 
to  leave  the  house,  and  return  no  more.  Tears  and  en- 
treaties were  of  no  avail,  and  the  young  Christian,  with 
his  little  bundle  of  clothes,  went  out,  not  knowing  whither 
he  should  go.  The  sun  was  low  in  the  western  horizon,, 
and  he  turned  aside  into  one  of  his  father's  barns,  in  a 
distant  meadow,  to  commune  with  God,  and,  perhaps, 
spend  the  night.     It  was  a  Bethel  to  his  soul ;  and  just 


1800.]  WILLIAM    S.    BABCOCK.  255 

then,  that  cruel  father,  having  occasion  to  pass  that  way, 
heard  what  seemed  to  be  tones  of  a  human  voice.  Step- 
ping softly  to  the  door,  whom  should  he  there  find  but  his 
own  banished  child,  in  prayer  to  God  ?  And  what  should 
he  hear  as  the  burden  of  his  prayer,  but  these  simple 
words  ?  "  O  Lord,  my  father  has  turned  me  out  of  doors, 
because  I  sing  and  pray.  0  Lord,  wha,t  shall  I  do  ? 
Where  shall  I  go  ?  O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  dear 
father.  Do,  Lord,  have  mercy  on  my  father."  It 
•was  too  much.  That  hard  heart  could  not  resist  the 
Spirit  of  God  under  those  circumstances  ;  and,  starting 
from  the  scene  he  could  no  longer  endure,  his  strength 
failed  him,  and  he  fell  to  the  ground,  begging  for  mercy^ 
The  praying  child  was  soon  by  his  side,  wrestling  mighti- 
ly with  God  for  salvation.  Pardon  was  found ;  and 
the  father  and  son,  hand  in  hand,  returned  to  the  house, 
where  the  fulness  of  joy  cannot  be  described.  The  change 
in  that  man  was  only  what  the  power  of  God  can  do,  with 
the  sinner's  consent. 

Rev.  Joseph  Boody,  Sen.,  of  Barrington,  N«  H.,  made  a 
tour  into  northern  Vermont,  in  the  autumn,  and  preached 
with  good  effect.  He  baptized  eighteen  in  Sheffield,  and 
on  the  same  day  a  branch  of  fifty-six  members  was  formed 
in  connection  with  his  own  church  in  New  Hampshire, 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  distant.  A  church  was  now 
organized  at  Tunbridge  by  Daniel  Batchelder,  and  the 
Strafford  church  received  a  large  accession. 

William  S.  Babcock  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  mer- 
chant, who  sent  him  to  Yale  College,  to  prevent  his  being 
drafted  as  a  soldier.  He  afterwards  settled  in  Spring- 
field, where  he  commenced  studying  the  Bible  in  order 
to  refute  its  teachings  ;  but  it  convinced  him  of  the  folly 
of  his  infidelity,  and  his  great  guilt  as  a  sinner.  He 
became  a  Christian  in  1800,  and  at  once  commenced 
preaching  ;  his  first  sermons,  about  fifty  in  number, 
were  written  in  full.  From  his  infidel  notions  he  passed 
over  to  the  other  extreme,  and  became  noted  for  his  ore- 


256  VERMONT  AND   CANADA.  [1801 . 

dulity,  as  his  belief  in  the  Angel  Delusion  ^  will  show. 
Becoming  acquainted  with  the  Freewill  Baptists,  he  found 
himself  in  union  with  them,  and  was  not  only  baptized 
but  ordained  by  Jeremiah  Ballard  of  New  Hampshire. 
Under  date  of  May  4th,  1801,  he  Avrote  a  long  letter  to 
the  Yearly  Meeting  in  New  Hampshire,  requesting  that 
his  church  might  be  instructed  in  discipline  and  received 
into  fellowship. 

The  reply  was  drafted  by  Tingley,  and  breathes  the 
kind  but  cautious  spirit  of  the  fathers,  saying,  "  As  to 
openly  announcing  our  fellowship  with  your  branch,  we 
think  it  not  prudent  now  (as  we  would  do  nothing  rashly) , 
and  we  are  not  certain  but  some  incautious  steps  may 
have  been  taken  by  the  Unity  Quarterly  Meeting  ;  and 
still,  we  would  '  hurt  not  the  oil  and  the  wine.'  "  A  com- 
mittee to  the  Unity  Quarterly  Meeting,  of  which  Randall 
was  chairman,  proceeded,  by  instruction,  to  Springfield, 
and  foimd  Babcock,  as  they  reported,  to  be  "  a  man  of 
good  understanding,  of  liberal  education,  and  very  gifted, 
with  the  weight  of  the  cause  on  his  soul."  The  church 
he  had  gathered  there  numbered  twenty-five  members. 

They  also  met  with  Rev.  Stephen  Place,  formerly 
from  Rhode  Island,  but  now  of  Weathersfield,  an  adjoin- 
ing town,  where  he  had  gathered  a  chvxrch  of  twenty-one 
members.  These  two  churches  then  met  together,  and 
Randall  "  gave  an  account  of  the  rise,  progress,  doctrine, 
and  discipline  of  the  Freewill  Baptists,"  to  the  entire  sat- 
isfaction of  both  ministers  and  people.  Their  union  with 
the  denomination  was  then  consummated  by  giving  the 
hand  of  fellowship. 

Rev.  Aaron  Buzzell  now  came  into  Vermont,  and  set- 
tled in  Strafford,  near  the  central  part  of  the  State,  and 
was  pastor  of  the  church  for  thirty-seven  years,  and  gen- 
eral counsellor  in  the  cause  of  Christ.  In  the  northern 
part  of  the  State,  Boody  was  active,  preaching  the  gos- 
pel and  planting  churches.  July  4th,  several  brethren 
>  See  Third  Decade. 


1802.  EKOWN  ORDAINED.  257 

from  the  Hardwick,  Sutton,  Sheffield,  and  Danville  church- 
es, met  at  Gideon  Leavitt's  in  Wheelock  for  Conference. 
Rev.  Joseph  Boody,  from  Barrington,  N.  H.,  was  chosen 
Chairman,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Boody,  Jr.,  from  Hardwick, 
was  chosen  Clerk,  It  was  then  "  voted  to  hold  a  Quarterly 
Meeting,  as  we  shall  from  time  to  time,  think  proper." 
•Other  preliminary  business  was  transacted,  and  the  next 
day  being  the  Sabbath,  "  the  Lord  opened  the  windoAvs  of 
■heaven,  and  showered  heavenly  manna  upon  all  assem- 
bled." This  was  an  unauthorized  Quarterly  Meeting,  ac- 
cording to  the  polity  of  that  day,  and  to  the  June  session 
of  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  1802,  both  written  and  verbal 
reports  were  sent  from  Straffiard  and  Wheelock,  speaking 
of  revivals,  and  asking  that  a  Quarterly  Meeting  might  be 
established  in  each  locality.  Committees  with  discretion- 
ary power  were  appointed  to  visit  each  place.  Tingley, 
John  Buzzell,  and  Aaron  Buzzell,  and  the  representatives 
from  Straffijrd,  Tunbridge,  Vershire,  Corinth,  and  proba- 
bly Brookfield — met  at  Vershire,  June  26th,  and  organ- 
ized a  Quarterly  Meeting,  to  be  known  as  the  "  Straffijrd 
Association." 

After  the  organization  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  ten 
happy  converts  came  forward,  related  their  experience, 
and  were  baptized  ;  the  scene  being  unusually  impressive. 
A  meeting  was  held  at  the  same  place  the  next  day,  at 
the  close  of  which  Nathaniel  Brown  of  Strafford  was  ex- 
amined with  reference  to  his  call  and  qualifications  for 
the  ministry.  He  was  approved,  and  the  ordination  ser- 
vices were  appointed  at  the  town's  meeting  house  in 
Strafford  on  the  morrow.  The  "  trial  sermon  "  was  ac- 
ceptable, and,  in  the  afternoon.,  John  Buzzell  preached  two 
hours  and  three-quarters,  from  the  text,  "  Gro  ye  into  all 
the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  The 
last  part  of  the  discourse  consisted  of  four  distinct  address- 
es, made  to  ministers.  Christians,  backsliders,  and  sinners. 
Those  of  each  class  respectively,  rose  and  stood  while 
the  address  was  being  made  to  them.  Never  did  Buzzell 
22* 


258  VERMONT  AND  CANADA.  [1802. 

speak  with  greater  freedom,  or  more  apparent  effect.  He 
recalled  to  mind  the  struggles  of  nine  years  before,  when 
he  organized  the  little  church  of  nine  members  in  a  pri- 
vate room,  late  at  night ;  and  now  it  had  become  strong  ; 
and  before  him  was  an  audience  of  fifteen  hundred,  all 
hanging  with  intense  solicitude  on  the  words  of  his  lips. 
Ordaining  hands  were  then  laid  upon  Brown,  while  prayer 
was  offered  by  the  venerable  Tingley. 

The  same  council  met  Avith  the  church  at  Tunbridge, 
July  1st,  and  ordained  one  of  its  members — Nathaniel 
King — whose  praise,  for  many  years,  was  in  all  the 
churches.  Eli  Stedman  was  soon  after  ordained,  and  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  then  had  four  ministers,  five  churches, 
and  330  members.  From  this  store-house  of  gospel 
truth,  the  seed  of  the  kingdom  was  soon  carried  to  West- 
ern New  York  and  Southern  Ohio  by  two  of  the  above- 
named  men.  Brown  and  Stedman. 

Two  of  the  committee  chosen  by  the  Yearly  Meeting  to 
visit  the  northern  part  of  the  State — Joseph  Boody  of 
Strafford,  N.  H.,  and  Aaron  Buzzell,  of  Strafford,  Vt., 
— met  the  associated  churches  at  Wheelock,  August  28th, 
and,  after  due  examination,  acknowledged  them  as  the 
Hard  wick  [now  Wheelock]  Quarterly  Meeting.  Thg  next 
day  being  Sunday,  sermons  were  preached  by  each  of  the 
committee,  and  on  Monday  four  men  were  ordained  as 
deacons,  two  as  ruling  elders,  and  two — Eliphalet  Max- 
field  and  Robinson  Smith — were  ordained  as  evangelists. 
Peleg  Hicks,  formerly  a  Calvinistic  Baptist  minister,  and 
with  him  two  churches,  united  with  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing. It  then  had  four  ministers — ^Boody,  Maxfield,  Smith, 
and  Hicks — eight  churches — Hardwick,  Sutton,  Sheffield, 
Upper  Danville,  Lower  Danville,  Cabot,  and  the  two  from 
the  Calvinistic  Baptists,  names  unknown — and  it  numbered 
about  260  members. 

Sometime  in  the  autumn,  Boody  and  Smith  went  into 
Canada,  by  request,  and  great  were  the  displays  of  Divine 
power  that  attended  their  labors,  especially  in  Stanstead 


1805.]  GENERAL   PROSPERITY.  259 

and  Hatley,  where  many  were   converted  and   churches 
were  organized,  the  first  in  the  province. 

The  comraencement  of  the  Freewill  Baptist  interest  in 
Canada  was  thus  :  At  the  first  burial  in  the  town  of  Hat- 
ley,  which  was  in  1800,  the  people  assembled,  but  no 
Christian  was  recognized  among  them.  The  notorious 
Stephen  Burroughs  was  there,  and  was  asked  to  pray ; 
but  for  once  did  he  hesitate  at  wickedness,  and  decline  to 
offer  his  farcical  prayers  over  the  dead.  Christopher  Flan- 
ders, a  Freewill  Baptist  layman  from  Newbury,  N.  H., 
had  come  into  town  the  day  before,  and  when  it  was 
known  that  he  was  a  man  of  prayer,  the  blessing  of  God 
was  earnestly  invoked.  He  talked  and  prayed  with  the 
people,  and  settled  there  the  next  year,  when  a  prayer 
meeting  was  established,  some  were  converted,  and  in 
June,  1802,  Avery  Moulton,  from  Stanstead,  and  a  Meth- 
odist minister,  held  a  few  meetings  there,  which  led  to  the 
invitation  of  Boody  and  Smith,  as  above  stated.  After  a 
few  years  Smith  settled  in  Hatley,  and  the  church  enjoyed 
great  prosperity. 

The  Strafibrd  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  its  report  to  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  June,  said,  "  The  Lord  is  with  us  in 
power  and  great  glory  ;  the  reformation  spreads  in  a  very 
remarkable  manner  ;  large  additions  are  common  ;  Zion^ 
enlarges  her  borders  and  strengthens  her  stakes,  and 
breaks  out  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left."  The  Hard- 
wick  Quarterly  Meeting  said,  "  The  work  of  God  is  very 
glorious  in  these  parts  ;  large  numbers  are  daily  bowing 
to  the  sceptre  of  king  Immanuel." 

The  early  records  of  the  Strafford  Quarterly  Meeting 
being  lost,  but  little  in  detail  can  now  be  gathered  from 
the  churches  there.  The  Hardwick  Quarterly  Meeting 
was  enjoying  tolerable  prosperity,  though  Boody  returned 
to  New  Hampshire  abouLt  this  time.  Randall  attended  the 
January  session  in  1805,  and  preached,  not  only  at  the 
Quarterly  Meeting,  but  in  most  of  the  churches.  Revi- 
vals were  enjoyed  in  many  places,  especially  at  Billymead 


260  VERMONT   AND    CANADA.  [1808. 

]]now  Sutton],  in  which  John  Colby,  the  celebi-ated  evan- 
gelist, experienced  religion.  The  evidences  of  his  con- 
version vv^ere,  at  first,  doubtful,  but  cherishing  a  feeble 
hope,  he  was  soon  basking  in  the  sunlight  of  God's  recon- 
ciled countenance. 

The  first  ordination  in  Canada  was  that  of  Avery  Moul- 
ton  of  Stanstead.  He  came  from  Gilmanton,  N.  H.,  in 
1800,  and  transferred  his  church  relations  from  the  Con- 
gregationalists  in  1803.  The  next  spi'ing  he  lost  his  house 
by  fire,  with  aU  its  contents,  including  $40  in  money,  re- 
served as  a  payment  for  his  land.  But  he  faltered  not ; 
in  poverty  and  amid  privations,  he  Avent  from  settlement 
to  settlement,  sometimes  guided  only  by  spotted  trees,  suc- 
cessfully preaching  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  His 
principal  compensation  was  an  approving  conscience  and 
the  salvation  of  souls.  Three  of  his  sons  afterwards  en- 
tered the  ministry. 

The  Hardwick  Quarterly  Meeting  held  its  regular  ses- 
sions in  1807,  but  not  a  revival  Avas  reported  for  the  year. 
The  Lower  Danville  church  now  left  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, and  rejected  the  name  Freewill  Baptist^  assuming  that 
of  Cliristian,  as  if  that  would  make  them  less  sectarian 
and  more  holy.  The  Strafford  Quarterly  Meeting  was 
-marching  boldly  on,  contending  for  the  faith,  and  thus  act- 
ing as  a  check  upon  the  erroneous  doctrines  of  others.  In 
assigning  the  reasons  why  the  Calvinistic  Baptists  had 
never  been  more  prosperous  in  that  part  of  the  state,  Ben- 
edict says,  "  One  reason  was  the  perpetual  conflicts  on  the 
open  communion  question,  arising  from  the  prevalence  of 
Freewill  Baptists  and  the  Christian  Society." 

Delegates  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  had  requested  that  one 
of  the  four  annual  sessions  might  be  held  in  Vermont.  Af- 
ter two  or  three  postponements  of  the  request,  it  was 
unanimously  granted ;  and  the  Yearly  Meeting  convened 
at  Bradford  February  6,  1808.  John  Buzzell  of  Maine 
was  chosen  Moderator,  and  Simeon  Dana  of  New  Hamp- 
shire, Clerk.     The  attendance  from  abroad  was  not  large, 


1809.]  TRIALS.  261 

but  the  meeting  was  one  of  good  interest.  The  Hardwick 
Quarterly  Meeting  was  still  in  a  low,  tried  state,  and  the 
churches  had  all  they  could  do  to  hold  their  own  against 
the  tide  of  worldly  influence,  general  backslidings,  and 
alienation  from  the  denomination.  A  request  to  the  Year- 
ly Meeting  for  help,  procured  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee, and  Aaron  Buzzell,  James  Spencer  and  Simeon 
Dana  met  with  them  at  the  May  session,  and  rendered 
them  essential  aid.  They  say,  in  their  report,  "  "We  found 
them  low  and  tried  in  their  minds,  weak  as  to  government 
and  order,  and  much  separated  from  the  connection  through 
misunderstanding.  Eld.  Benjamin  Page  in  particular  con- 
fessed that  he  had  been  alienated  for  three  years,  and  gave 
some  cause  that  he  had  not  added  one  member  to  the  visi- 
ble order  for  that  space  of  time.  But  by  conversation 
with  him,  he  appeared  somewhat  helped,  and  promised  to 
attend  the  Yearly  Meeting  and  conferences,  and  try  to 
have  the  difficulty  removed.  We  think  that  wise  labor 
may  produce  good  order,  and  a  re-union  take  place."  This 
state  of  things  continued  through  the  year,  but  in  1809 
there  was  a  decided  improvement,  yet  nothing  greatly  en- 
couraging. A  few  churches  in  the  Strafford  Quarterly 
Meeting  were  somewhat  revived,  and  the  Yearly  Meeting 
held  at  Strafford  in  February  was  salutary  in  its  influ- 
ence. It  is  impossible  to  say  how  much  the  cause  was 
strengthened,  even  numerically,  by  the  addition  of  church- 
es and  ministers,  so  incomplete  are  the  records  and  re- 
ports ;  but  it  is  known  that  the  following  accessions  were 
made  : 

CnmiCHES  Organized.  In  1800,  Cabot,  Danville, 
Hardwick,  Sheffield,  Springfield,  Tunbridge,  Vershire, 
Walden,  and  West  Danville  ;  '01,  Lyndon,  Sutton,  and 
Weathersfield  ;  '02,  Washington,  Waterford,  and  Hatley 
and  Stanstead  (in  Canada)  ;  '05,  Calais,  Concord,  Dew- 
eysburgh,  and  Branston  (in  Canada)  ;  '08,  Chester  and 
Peacham  ;  and  Bradford,  time  unknown. 

Ordinations.     In  1800,  Wm.  S.  Babcock  ;  '02,  Eph- 


262  VERMONT   AND   CANADA.  [1809. 

raim  Ainsworth,  Nathaniel  BroAvn,  Natlianiel  King,  Eli- 
phalet  Maxfield,  Robinson  Smith,  and  Eli  Stedman  ;  '03, 
Benjamin  Page,  James  Spencer,  and  Ziba  Woodworth  ; 
'04,  Edward  Ralph,  and  two  in  Strafford  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, names  unknown  ;  '05,  Paul  Holbrook  ;  '06,  Avery 
Moulton  (in  Canada)  ;  '09,  John  Colby,  David  Norris 
and  Benjamin  Putnam ;  and  Daniel  Chappel,  time  un- 
known. 


REVIEW.  .  263 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE   THIRD    DECADE. 

1800—1810. 

Review — Statistics — Inconveniences  at  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings 
— Reflections — City  Churches — Class  Meetings  —  Polity  Changed — 
Churches  Reject  Members — Church  Records  in  Quarterly  Meeting 
— Buzzell  Secretary  of  the  Yearly  Meeting — Elias  Smith — DisaiFec- 
tions — Angel  Delusion. 

The  first  ten  years  of  the  present  century  were  fraught 
with  interests  scarcely  less  important  than  those  of  either 
of  the  preceding  decades.  As  a  period,  it  began  with 
great  prosperity,  and  closed  with  trials  equally  great. 
The  organization  of  churches  furnishes  an  index  of  the 
progressive  state  of  religion,  and  the  first  year  nineteen 
were  organized,  and  the  last,  only  four.  The  first  five 
years  they  numbered  forty-six,  the  last  five,  only  twenty- 
five  ;  making  seventy-one  in  all.  But  the  accession  of 
ministers  was  still  greater  ;  eighty-one  are  known  to  have 
received  ordination,  and  there  were  doubtless  others  whose 
names  have  not  been  ascertained.  The  vine  ran  over  the 
wall  of  our  national  boundary,  and  took  root  in  Canada 
East,  where  three  churches  were  organized. 

Two  Quarterly  Meetings  were  organized — Strafford 
and  Hardwick — the  Unity  was  dissolved,  and  the  Gorham 
and  Parsonsfield  were  united.  The  Yearly  Meeting  had 
commenced  holding  one  of  its  sessions  in  Vermont,  and 
the  disorganizing  movements,  to  be  noticed  hereafter,  did 
not  effectually  check  the  denomination's  onward  march. 
The   great  revivals  in  Western  Maine,  during  the  last 


264  .       THIRD    DECADE. 

years  of  this  decade,  were  all  the  more  cheering  because 
of  the  gathering  darkness  around  so  many  other  churches. 
Buzzell  says  "  about  nine  hundred"  were  converted  in  two 
years,  and  during  this  decade  he  baptized  261. 

The  preaching  of  that  day  was  faithful,  and  conversions 
genuine,  but  the  salutary  influence  of  revivals  was  less 
abiding  than  now,  for  two  reasons  : — First,  the  itinerant 
labors  of  the  ministry  prevented  them  from  watching 
over  the  converts,  and  instructing  them  in  the  progressive 
work  of  the  Christian.  When  the  revival  interest  in  any 
place  began  to  languish,  the  minister  would  generally 
feel  that  his  work  there  was  done,  and  leave  at  the  very 
time  when  pastoral  labor  was  most  needed,  and  just  when 
his  departure  would  most  depress  the  already  ebbing  tide 
of  religious  interest.  Transient  gifts  could  not  meet  the 
wants  of  the  people,  and  no  preaching  was  still  more  un- 
fortunate. Secondly,  there  was  a  want  of  confidence  in 
organized  Christian  eifort,  as  will  be  soon  shown.  Re- 
pentance and  baptism  were  faithfully  enjoined,  but  many 
were  not  careful,  as  were  the  apostles,  to  see  that  converts 
were  "  added  to  the  church." 

The  death  of  Randall  was  sad  in  itself;  but  it  was,  for  a 
time,  still  more  sad  in  its  effects  upon  the  peace  of  the 
denomination.  There  were  restless  minds  that  respected 
the  man,  and  feared  his  restraining  influence  while  living ; 
but  when  dead,  they  seemed  not  to  revere  his  memory,  or 
heed  his  surviving  counsels.  Distraction  threatened  the 
ruin  of  the  cause  to  which  he  and  others  had  devoted  their 
lives.  But  the  clouds  of  adversity  passed  away,  and  all 
was  calm  and  bright  again. 

Twenty-five  years  after  the  organization  of  the  first 
churches,  an  effort  was  made  to  ascertain  the  statistics  of 
the  denomination.  At  the  last  session  in  1805,  the  Year- 
ly Meeting  requested  all  the  churches  to  report  their  num- 
ber to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
to  report  the  amount  to  the  Yearly  Meeting.  There 
were  good  men  who  feared  that  this  enumeration  would 


INCONVENIENCES.  2,6,5 

be  like  David's  numbering  Israel,  displeasing  to  God, 
and  the  effort  was  only  partially  successful.  In  June, 
1806,  there  were  forty-one  churches  in  the  New  Durham 
Quarterly  Meeting,  and  thirty-three  of  them  reported 
2636  members  ;  and  the  number  of  ministers  was  thirty- 
two.  Strafford  Quarterly  Meeting  reported  602  mem- 
bers. 

At  the  commencement  of  1810,  the  statistics  were  as 
follows  :  One  Yearly  Meeting  with  four  annual  sessions  ; 
six  Quarterly  Meetings  ;  and  the  estimated  number  of 
churches  was  about  130  ;  number  of  members  about  6000  ; 
and  the  number  of  ministers  about  110. 

Inconveniences  were  then  experienced  at  Quarterly  and 
Yearly  Meetings,  such  as  are  now  unknown.  They  were 
often  held  in  a  private  house,  a  barn,  or  the  grove.  If 
soldiers'  fare  in  food  and  lodgings  could  be  obtained,  all 
were  satisfied.  Beds  were  divided  for  the  aged  and  fee- 
ble, while  others  found  rest  without  couch  or  covering. 
In  New  Hampshire  especially,  where  great  account  has 
always  been  made  of  such  meetings,  it  was  impossible  to 
provide  comfortably  for  the  masses  in  attendance.  Says 
one  familiar  with  those  scenes,  "  At  a  Quarterly  Meeting 
in  Pittsfield,  Elder  Knowlton  filled  every  bed  in  his 
house,  and  then  twenty  of  us  lay  on  the  floor,  and  as 
many  more  slept  in  the  barn."  Regular  meals  were  pro- 
vided so  far  as  they  could  be,  but  a  lunch  was  all  that 
many  received  or  desired.  The  more  liberal  in  adjoining 
towns  took  their  provisions  along  with  them,  or  sent  sup- 
plies beforehand.  Tents  were  sometimes  erected  near  the 
meeting,  where  refreshments  were  sold. 

But  their  want  of  accommodations  was  by  no  means 
their  greatest  annoyance.  In  these  tents  rum  and  cider 
were  often  sold ;  and  peddlers,  with  their  various  wares, 
often  attended.  As  Satan  anciently  came  among  the  sons 
of  God  when  they  presented  themselves  before  the  Lord, 
so  rowdies  went  to  New  Durham  when  Christians  there 
23 


266  THIRD   DECADE. 

assembled  for  worsliip.  While  tiie  pious  were  engaged 
in  prayer  and  praise,  the  vain  and  reckless  were  drinking 
and  carousing,  trading  and  horseracing  in  the  street,  or 
dancing  at  some  house  in  the  vicinity.  Such  was  the 
low  state  of  morals,  and  the  discountenancing  tone  of 
public  opinion  towards  Freewill  Baptists,  that  these  evil's 
could  not  be  suppressed,  and  had  to  be  endured. 

No  people  in  modern  times  have  suffered  more  from 
popular  reproach  than  Freewill  Baptists  ;  and  none  have 
had  more  confidence  in  the  correctness  of  public  senti- 
ment, when  permeated  with  Christian  truth.  No  people 
were  more  indifferent  to  popular  favor  ;  or  more  jealous 
of  popular  rights.  They  received  no  public  benefactions, 
but  were  themselves  public  benefactors.  They  declared 
the  church  independent  of  State  patronage  or  dictation, 
and  brought  religion,  in  its  claims,  down  to  the  people, 
or,  rather,  the  people  up  to  the  blessings  of  religion. 
They  divested  it  of  cold  formality  and  worldly  conformi- 
ty, and  presented  it  to  the  people  all  robed  in  the  gar- 
ments of  spiritual  simplicity,  and  energized  with  the  power 
of  an  endless  life.  The  early  fathers  served  their  genera- 
tion, and  have  gone  to  their  reward. 

City  Churches  were  regarded  in  all  their  importance, 
by  comparatively  few.  Those  great  centres  of  influence, 
from  which  might  radiate  the  most  refulgent  streams  of 
moral  light,  were  left  unoccupied,  while  the  most  retired 
country  neighborhood  was  sought  out  and  visited  with 
the  gospel.  In  1804,  while  nominally  connected  with 
the  Freewill  Baptists,  Dr.  Jones  went  to  Boston,  and 
thence  to  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  laboring  in  the  cause. 
Randall  had  several  interviews  with  him  at  the  latter 
place,  and,  to  satisfy  his  fearful  brethren  that  city  life 
need  not  exalt  the  true  Christian,  he  wrote  to  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  saying,  "  I  bless  God  that  he  is  the  same 
humble  Abner  Jones  he  was  at  Lebanon  ;  and  the  Lord 
does  use  him  blessedly.  He  tells  me  that  he  has  planted 
a  church  in  Boston,  and  has  been  a  number  of  weeks  in 


THE   POLITY.  2^7 

Portsmouth.  Our  preachers  are  not  right  in  staying 
away  from  Portsmouth,  as  they  do."  Had  this  effort  of 
Jones,  so  heartily  endorsed  by  Randall,  been  followed 
up  by  others,  instead  of  being  so  long  a  rural  people, 
we  should  early  have  had  strong  and  prosperous  city 
churches. 

"  Class  Meetings "  are  not  of  recent  origin  among 
Freewill  Baptists.  They  were  established  early  in  this 
decade,  and  reported  regularly  to  the  church.  New  Dur- 
ham church  had  a  "  class  "  in  Barnstead,  and  another  in 
Strafford.  Meredith  had  one  for  several  years  in  Centre 
Harbor,  and  another  in  Moultonborough,  but  these  were 
held  only  once  a  month.  The  New  Hampton  church 
was  at  this  time  divided  into  six  classes,  with  a  leader  in 
each,  and  their  weekly  meetings  were  very  useful. 

The  Polity  of  the  denomination  underwent  some  changes 
at  this  time.  Hitherto  Quarterly  Meetings  had  generally 
allowed  every  Freewill  Baptist  present  to  speak  and  act, 
and  the  principal  object  in  the  choice  of  delegates  by  the 
church,  was  to  secure  a  representation.  In  1801  it  was 
recommended  by  the  Elders'  Conference  of  the  New  Dur- 
ham Quarterly  Meeting  that  chosen  delegates  should  be 
sent  by  the  church,  who  alone  should  constitute  the  busi- 
ness body  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  ;  but  this  order  did 
not  become  general  for  many  years. 

The  records  of  each  Quarterly  Meeting  had  always 
been  read  in  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  in  1803  it  was 
enjoined  upon  the  churches  to  forward  their  records  to 
the  Quarterly  Meeting,  "  so  that  general  information  be 
obtained  by  the  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meeting."  But 
this  was  earnestly  opposed  for  the  two  reasons,  that  it 
was  burdening  the  Quarterly  Meeting  with  unnecessary 
labor,  and  assuming  an  undue  supervision  over  the  action 
of  the  churches.  As  Republicans  in  the  nation  were  then 
rising  in  triumph  over  the  Federal  party,  that  sought  the 
concentration  of  power  in  the  General  Government,  so, 
in  the  church.,  there  was  a  rising  party  that  opposed  tke 


268  THIRD    DECADE. 

centralization  of  power  in  the  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meet- 
ing. Though  defeated  in  the  above  action,  they  called  in 
question,  the  same  year,  the  long-established  practice  of 
going  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting  for  authority  to  reject  a 
member  ;  and  here  they  were  successful.  By  request 
from  the  two  Vermont  Quarterly  Meetings,  it  was  "  Voted 
that  the  Discipline  be  so  far  altered  as  to  give  each  branch 
[[church],  with  the  assistance  of  a  teaching  elder,  the 
privilege  of  rejecting  transgi'essing  members ;  the  letter 
of  rejection  to  be  read  in  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  re- 
corded in  the  minutes  ;  and  the  rejected  member  to  have 
the  right  of  appeal  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  for  a  re- 
hearing." At  the  next  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting,  an 
unsuccessful  effort  was  made  to  repeal  this  vote,  and  the 
year  following  it  was  confirmed  by  the  agreement  "  that 
any  branch  organized  to  receive  members,  has  power  to 
reject." 

Many  were  apprehensive  that  the  churches,  having  no 
regular  pastoral  labor,  would  suffer  most  seriously  from  a 
lax  and  improper  discipline,  unless  their  records  were 
subjected  to  Quarterly  Meeting  inspection.  But  large  and 
impatient  audiences  were  kept  for  hours  by  the  reading  of 
these  records  and  the  discussions  on  discipline,  so  that 
many  who  were  unwilling  to  yield  independence  to  the 
churches  from  principle,  were  glad  to  do  it  from  policy. 
In  1804  the  record  of  the  New  Durham  Yearly  Meeting 
says  : 

"  Upon  request  of  the  Third  Monthly  Meeting  in  Gil- 
manton,  and  supported  by  a  number  of  other  brethren, 
Voted  to  reconsider  the  vote  requiring  the  Monthly  Meet- 
ings to  bring  their  books  and  read  their  minutes  in  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  ;  but  instead  thereof,  they  may  send  a 
letter  and  give  a  general  account  of  their  standing.  And 
be  it  particularly  enjoined  upon  them  to  keep  their  records 
correctly." 

The  churches  and  Quarterly  Meetings  in  Maine  at  once 
conformed  to  this  action,   but  in   New  Hampshire  and 


ELI  AS    SMITH.  269 

Vermont  they  came  gradually  into  the  practice.  A  few 
years  after  this,  it  was  "  Voted  that  all  business  of  the 
church  in  any  part  of  our  connection  in  the  future,  be  at- 
tended to  in  the  church  where  it  belongs."  The  acknowl- 
edged independence  of  the  churches  was  followed  by  a 
few  cases  of  ultra  action  at  first,  but  it  was  ordered  that 
all  votes  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  "  establishing  or  altering 
the  Discipline,"  should  be  copied  into  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
records,  and  from  them  transcribed  into  each  church  book, 
"  so  that  uniformity  of  discipline  may  be  established 
throughout  the  connection." 

A  church  in  New  Hampshire  received  a  member  that 
had  been  sprinkled  instead  of  immersed,  and  had  chosen 
him  as  Clerk.  As  Clerks  were  ex-officio  members  of  the 
Elders'  Conference,  in  1806  it  was  "  Voted  that  no  unbap- 
tiized  member  shall  be  put  into  any  office  in  any  Monthly 
Meeting," 

At  the  October  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  180S, 
the  following  action  was  taken  : 

"  Whereas,  our  dear  and  well-beloved  brother.  Elder 
Benjamin- Randall,  deceased  on  the  22d  inst..  Voted  that 
Elder  John  Buzzell  take  and  keep  the  records  of  the  Year- 
ly Meeting,  and  record  the  minutes  of  the  same." 

After  this  the  records  are  not  so  full  as  when  kept  by 
Randall,  and  they  close  abruptly  in  the  midst  of  the  ac- 
count of  the  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting  in  1815, 
The  fact  that  there  are  140  blank  pages  in  the  book  of 
records,  suggests  the  inquiry  whether  the  great  search,  a 
few  years  since,  for  the  "  Lost  Records  of  the  Yearly 
Meeting,"  from  1815  to  the  establishment  of  the  General 
Conference  in  1827,  was  not  for  an  object  that  never  had 
existence  ?  Is  it  not  probable  that,  if  the  minutes  were 
forwarded  by  the  Clerks  of  the  several  sessions,  they  were 
never  transcribed  ? 

Elias  Smith  was  never  a  Freewill  Baptist,  but  such 
was  his  influence  in  the  denomination  for  a  time,  that  his 
true  relation  should  be  understood-  He  was  born  at 
23* 


270  THIRD   DECADE. 

Lyme,  Conn.,  in  1769,  and,  in  early  cliildhood,  his  parents 
removed  to  Woodstock,  Vt.,  where  he  experienced  relig- 
ion at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  four  years  after  united  with 
the  Calvinistic  Baptists.  He  read  every  book  he  could 
buy  or  borrow,  and,  by  reflection,  made  the  knoAvledge  it 
contained  his  own.  He  commenced  preaching  when 
twenty-one  ;  and  two  years  after  was  ordained.  He  was 
not  only  fluent,  but  sometimes  powerfully  eloquent..  Hear- 
ing a  Universalist  expose  the  inconsistencies  of  Calvinism 
in  the  partial  election  of  mankind,  he  immediately  took 
the  opposite  extreme,  and  zealously  taught  that  all  had 
been  elected  to  eternal  life.  In  a  few  days  he  renounced 
Universalism  without  reembracing  Calvinism,  and  was, 
indeed,  unanchored  as  to  denominational  preferences. 
Two  years  afterwards,  in  1803,  he  organized  a  church  in 
Portsmouth,  calling  it  simply  a  Christian  church.  Rev. 
Abner  Jones,  a  Freewill  Baptist,  went  to  Portsmouth  the 
same  year,  and  from  this,  their  first  meeting,  the  names. 
Smith  and  Jones,  were  often  associated.  Jones  soon  began 
to  warp  off,  and  left  the  Freewill  Baptists.  Smith  wrote 
many  hard  things  against  the  Calvinists,  and  in  1804  was 
disfellowshipped.  From  this  time  they  labored  together, 
and  hence  arose  the  Christian  denomination. 

In  August,  1805,  Smith  attended  the  New  Durham 
Quarterly  Meeting  at  Somersworth,  and,  on  inquiry,  was 
told  the  manner  in  which  members,  ministers,  and  churches 
were  received  into  the  denomination.  He  was  satisfied, 
and  expected  to  unite  at  the  next  Yearly  Meeting  in  Qor- 
ham,  the  November  following.  He  attended  that  meet- 
ing, and  the  record  says,  "  Came  forward  and  related  his 
experience  and  call  to  the  ministry  ;  also  his  trials  with 
regard  to  doctrine,  and  his  present  standing,  and  mani- 
fested a  desire  to  be  considered  a  member  of  our  connec- 
tion." The  question  of  receiving  him  Avas  one  of  difficult 
solution.  His  accession  would  be  that  of  "  a  host  in  him- 
self," and  other  preachers  and  several  churches  would  be 
likely  to  come  with  him.     He  was  Avith  the  Freewill  Bap- 


ELIAS    SMITH.  271 

tists  in  all  those  doctrines  that  distinguish  them  from  oth- 
er evangelical  Christians,  but  he  was  found  to  be  heretical 
on  other  points  ;  and  here  was  the  difficulty.  He  rejected 
all  written  creeds  and  denominational  names,  except  that 
of  Christian.  He  believed  that  the  intermediate  state  was 
one  of  unconsciousness,  and  at  the  general  judgment  the 
wicked  would  be  destroyed,  both  soul  and  body.  Disrob- 
ing Christ  of  his  Divinity,  he  left  the  world  with  only  a 
finite  Saviour,  and  with  no  reason  why  "  all  men  should 
honor  the  Son  even  as  they  honor  the  Father."  It  was  ad- 
mitted in  the  examination,  that  he  then  had  a  work  in  press, 
entitled  "  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,"  advocat- 
ing the  above  sentiments.  Till  this  time,  not  a  trace  of 
Unitarianism,  or  annihilationism,  can  be  found  in  the 
footsteps  of  the  fathers  ;  and  well  might  they  hesitate 
when  asked  to  receive  them  both.  Some  were  unwisely 
tolerant,  and  ready  to  receive  so  great  and  good  a  man, 
but  others  objected,  and  the  unanswerable  arguments  of 
John  Buzzell  and  others  led  to  the  reference  of  the  subject  to 
the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting,  whence  it  originated ; 
but  Smith  withdrew  his  request,  and  there  the  question 
ended.  In  speaking  of  the  Freewill  Baptists,  Sraith  him- 
self says,i  "  But  for  one  man  I  should  have  become  a 
menaber  with  them,  so  far  as  to  be  held  in  fellowship  as  a 
fellow-laborer  ;  and  that  man  objected  on  the  ground  of 
my  believing  that  the  wicked  would  be  destroyed." 

The  above  discussion  and  disposition  of  the  question  re- 
sulted in  no  alienation  of  feeling,  and  Smith  continued  his 
associations  with  the  Freewill  Baptists  in  the  most  unre- 
strained manner.  His  sermons  and  publications  were  of- 
ten severe  on  the  religious  intolerance  of  the  day,  and 
Hon.  Isaac  Willey — a  member  of  Congress  from  Rhode 
Island — remarked  to  him  that  the  people  of  this  country 
had  a  much  better  understanding  of  civil,  than  of  religious, 
liberty  ;  and  advised  him  to  establish  "  a  religious  news- 
paper that  should  advocate  the  religious  liberty  that  is  in 
>  Life  of  Elias  Smith,  p.  354. 


272  THIRD   DECADE. 

harmony  with  ovir  civil  liberty."  The  suggestion  was  re- 
ceived with  favor,  and  September  1st,  1808,  was  issued  at 
Portsmouth,  the  first  number  of  "  The  Herald  of  Gospel 
Liberty."  It  has  since  claimed  to  have  been  the  first  ex- 
clusively religious  neAvspaper  published  in  the  country,  and 
was  liberally  patronized  by  liberal  men.  The  sympathy 
of  Freewill  Baptists  was  with  this  little  paper  in  its  lead- 
ing designs,  and  it  had  quite  an  extensive  circulation 
among  them.  Many  failed  to  discriminate  between  its 
truths  on  liberty,  and  its  errors  in  doctrine  ;  and  as  its 
editor  continued  to  attend  Yearly  and  Quarterly  Meetings, 
and  often  preached  in  the  churches,  they  were  ensnared 
by  his  sophisms,  and  quite  a  number  left  the  denomina- 
tion and  associated  with  him.  Others,  who  did  not  leave, 
were  tinctured  with  his  theology,  and  his  extremely  loose 
notions  of  church  order  and  discipline,  so  that  afterwards 
their  peculiar  views  occasioned  not  a  little  perplexity  in 
harmonizing  and  systematizing,  for  publication,  the  doc- 
trines and  polity  of  the  denomination. 

About  the  year  1817  Smith  again  became  an  avowed 
Universalist,  and  for  ten  years  did  all  in  his  power  to 
promulgate  that  doctrine.  He  then  renounced  Universal- 
ism,  and  made  a  written  and  humble  confession,  but  "un- 
stable as  water,"  he  could  not  regain  the  confidence  of  the 
Christian  public. 

Disaffected  and  Disorganizing  Influences  were  manifest- 
ly at  work  from  the  time  of  Elias  Smith's  first  introduc- 
tion to  the  Freewill  Baptists.  In  his  proposed  union,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  he  desired  to  unite  with  them  as  such, 
or  have  them  unite  with  him^  No  evil  designs  are  im- 
puted to  Smith,  but  this  fact  is  unquestionable  i  if  his 
free  intercourse  with  the  Freewill  Baptists  was  not  the 
cause,  it  was  the  occasion  of  great  disaffection  and  severe 
trials.  Aside  from  any  influence  he  may  have  exerted, 
there  was  a  growing  spirit  of  uneasiness,  so  long  as  the 
circuitous  route  of  business  in  the  Quarterly  Meeting  lay 
through  all  the  church  records,  and  the  final  action  of  all 


DliSSENSIONS.  273 

church  discipline  lay  in  the  hands  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing. And  when  the  independence  of  the  churches  was 
acknowledged,  the  inertia  of  the  alienated  feeling,  in  many 
minds,  still  bore  them  onward.  They  would  be  satisfied 
only  with  the  most  radical  change.  It  would  not  subserve 
the  interests  of  religion  to  call  up  from  their  merited  obliv- 
ion those  scenes  of  distrust  and  trial ;  or  here  record  the 
names  of  honored  men  who  opposed  the  denominational 
polity.  But  suffice  it  to  say,  impetuous  men  chafed  under 
the  organized  restraints  ;  Scripture-loving  men  did  not 
find  the  terms  Monthly  Meeting,  Quarterly  Meeting,  or 
Yearly  Meeting,  in  the  Bible  ;  and  well-meaning  men 
thought  it  sectarian  to  be  called  Freewill  Baptists.  The 
under-current  of  disaffection  was  known  to  be  strong,  but 
how  strong  none  could  tell,  or  dared  to  know;  It  some- 
times came  to  the  surface  as  a  disorganizing  spirit,  rip- 
pling and  disturbing  the  quiet  elements  around.  A  prop- 
osition came  from  one  of  the  strongest  churches  in  New 
Hampshire,  to  "  drop  all  party  names,"  including  the 
"  Freewill  name,  and  the  former  order  of  Quarterly  and 
Yearly  Meetings."  And  the  "  desire  to  keep  no  records, 
more  than  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  persons  baptized,  as 
Elias  Smith  did,"^  was  advocated  wdth  a  zeal  that  seemed 
irresistible.  Said  John  Buzzell,  in  writing  upon  tlie  sub- 
ject a  few  years  since,  "  The  excitement  ran  so  high  that 
Dr.  Simeon  Dana,  then  Clerk  of  the  New  Durham  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  privately  conveyed  the  first  two  volumes  of 
records  to  the  writer  for  safe  keeping.  The  proposition 
was  brought  forward  and  canvassed  in  every  Quarterly 
and  Yearly  Meeting,  and  pressed  by  a  number  of  leading 
members."  So  prevalent  did  this  sentiment  become  at 
one  time  in  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting,  that  three 
of  its  sessions  were  held,  not  only  wdthout  record,  but 
"  without  Moderator  or  Clerk." 

The  Religious  Magazine  speaks  of  these  perilous  times, 
and  says,  "  A  number  of  brethren  began  to  separate  them- 
2  Repository,  Vol.  VIII.,  No.  23,— Article  by  aohn  Buzzell. 


274  THIRD    DECADE. 

selves  from  the  community,  and  cry  out  against  them, 
that  they  were  all  in  bondage  !  all  in  death  !  in  Babylon  !" 
Conservative  men  had  already  begun  to  yield,  and  changes 
were  taking  place  as  fast  as  the  general  health  of  the  body 
would  allow.  In  1808  the  question  came  before  the 
Yearly  Meeting  in  this  form  :  "  As  there  are  some  preach- 
ers professedly  of  this  connection,  who  separate  themselves 
from  us  in  business  and  labors,  and  unite  themselves  with 
other  denominations,  even  without  informing  us  of  their 
trials,  and  appear  to  be  sowing  the  seed  of  discord  among 
our  brethren,  therefore, 

"  Voted  that  the  Quarterly  Meetings  look  them  up,  and 
notify  them  to  appear  at  our  next  Yearly  Conference,  to 
be  held  at  Parsonsfield  immediately  after  the  Yearly  Meet- 
ing in  November ;  and  exhort  them  not  to  fail."  The 
record  speaks  of  the  attendance  of  only  one  of  the  above 
class,  who  said,  "  In  giving  the  hand  of  fellowship  to  Eld. 
Elias  Smith,  I  had  no  thought,  first  or  last,  of  leaving  my 
Freewill  brethren."  Randall  had  foreseen  the  gathering 
storm,  and  besought  his  brethren,  in  his  last  letter,  "  to 
take  some  measures  to  rectify  the  irregularities,  and  re- 
move the  disorders."  But  he  was  now  gone,  and  the  re- 
straints of  his  name  and  influence  were  no  longer  a  check 
on  restless  minds.  The  question  was  becoming  a  serious 
one,  and  there  was  less  to  fear  from  those  who  were  dis- 
posed to  leave  the  connection,  than  from  the  disaffected 
ones  who  remained,  and  sought  to  change  the  denomina- 
tional polity.  When  and  where  this  change  would  end, 
none  could  tell. 

With  mingled  emotions  of  hope  and  fear,  all  looked  for- 
ward to  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Elders'  Conference. 
It  convened  at  Gorham  in  November,  1809,  and  was  a 
scene  of  long  discussion  and  thrilling  interest ;  but  no  ad- 
justment could  be  reached.  Unable  to  settle  the  question, 
and  unwilling  to  part  without  a  settlement,  they  agreed  to 
refer  it  to  the  churches,  and  abide  their  decision,  whatever 
it  might  be.     The  question  submitted  was  this ;    "  Will 


ANGEL   DELUSION.  275 

you  drop  the  name  Freewill  Baptist,  and  abolish  Monthly, 
Quarterly,  and  Yearly  Meetings  ?"  and  never  did  contend- 
ing parties  submit  a  question  with  greater  confidence  in 
the  tribunal  of  ultimate  appeal.  Reports  were  made  to 
the  Yearly  Meeting  ^  in  June,  and  the  decision  was  almost 
unanimous  in  the  negative.  It  was  now  agreed  to  call 
the  churches  no  more  by  the  name  of  Monthly  Meeting, 
and  that  any  business  referred  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
by  the  churches  "  should  be  done  in  a  sequestered  confer- 
ence." 

And  here  the  crisis  was  passed,  and  the  contest  ended. 
Buzzell  says,  "  A  large  namber  left,"  but  harmony  was 
restored.  This  was  the  first  serious  test  to  which  the 
principles  and  polity  of  the  denomination  were  subjected ; 
and  it  is  gratifying  to  know  with  what  unanimity  they 
were  sustained. 

The  Angel  Delusion  was  one  of  those  foolish  vagaries 
into  which  persons  of  disordered  mental  action,  or  of  strong 
passions  and  excitable  temperaments,  sometimes  fall.  It 
was  the  elder  sister  of  modern  spiritualism ;  born  of  the 
same  mesmeric  parents,  and  nursed  into  being  by  the  same 
class  of  credulous  friends.  About  the  year  1809,  or  a  lit- 
tle before,  a  young  woman  in  Newbury,  N.  H.,  of  fair 
standing  and  approved  piety,  Avould  occasionally  yield  to 
overpowering  emotions,  and  become  utterly  prostrated  in 
her  physical  energies.  In  this  state  of  apparent  insensi- 
bility, she  would  lie  for  a  time,  and  then,  coming  to  herself 
again,  she  claimed  to  have  been  in  communion  with  angels, 
and  declared  the  messages  that  had  been  thus  received 
direct  from  Heaven.  Mysterious  things  were  said  and 
done,  and  the  excitement  became  intense.  Other  women 
claimed  to  have  interviews  with  angels,  and  a  few  men  be- 
came the  unfortunate  dupes  of  their  delusion.  At  one 
time  several  ministers  were  ensnared,  but  soon  saw  their 
error,  and  with  penitence  retraced  their  steps.     During 

'  This  Yearly  Meeting  was  at  Gilford,  N.  H.,  in  1810,  it  having  been 
previously  held  at  New  Durham  for  eighteen  years. 


276  THEBD   DECADE. 

the  time,  however,  about  fifty  professed  conversion  under 
their  preaching,  based,  as  it  was,  upon  angelic  revelations  ; 
an  "  Angel  Society  "  was  formed,  and  arrangements  were 
partially  made  for  establishing  themselves  as  a  colony  in 
Penobscot  County,  Maine. 

The  extent  of  their  folly  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
fact :  One  of  the  ministers  desired  an  interview  ynih  angels 
himself,  and  earnestly  prayed  for  it ;  but  a  revelation 
soon  came  to  him,  through  the  principal  medium,  that  this 
could  not  be  ;  but,  by  marrying  her  (which  was  the  will 
of  the  Lord) ,  all  the  advantages  of  such  interviews  would 
be  secured.  "  The  will  of  the  Lord  be  done,"  said  he, 
and  the  marriage  ceremony  was  at  once  performed. 

When  the  delusion  had  fully  developed  itself,  all  that 
was  afterwards  said  by  them  about  talking  with  angels 
was  said  in  shame  and  penitent  confessions. 


1810.]  MONTVILLE    QUARTERLY   MEETING.  277 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MAINE. 

1810—1820. 

Revivals — ^Montville  Quarterly  Meeting — Yearly  Meeting  at  Buxton — 
Colby  at  Montville — Leach's  Letter — Whitney  at  Newfield — S,  Bur- 
bank's  Conversion — Great  Revivals — Daniel  and  Samuel  Hutchinson 
Leave  the  Denomination — Colby  at  Eastport — Clement  Phinney — ^His 
Labors  in  Gorham — Prays  for  a  Universalist — Rev.  Asa  Rand's  At- 
tack— ^Buzzell's  Reply — McGray  in  Nova  Scotia — Cochranism — Lock's 
Letter — Revivals  in  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting — ^State  Constitu- 
tion— Churches  Organized — Ordinations — Death. 

An  interesting  state  of  religious  interest  had  been  enjoyed 
at  South  Parsonsfield  for  several  months,  and  the  work 
became  marvellous  at  the  North  Road,  early  in  1810. 
Seventeen  were  converted  in  one  evening,  and  forty-three 
the  same  week.  The  revival  extended  into  Effingham 
and  Cornish,  till  two  hundred  were  brought  to  Christ. 

The  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  had  become  so  nu- 
merous and  extensive  that  several  of  the  northern  church- 
es were  dismissed,  and  the  Montville  Quarterly  Meeting 
is  said  to  have  been  organized  at  Knox  in  1810  ;  but  no 
additional  facts  concerning  its  organization  have  been 
learned,  as  the  early  records  are  lost. 

In  October  Jeremiah  Bullock,  son  of  Rev.  Christopher 
Bullock,  went  to  Limington,  appointed  meetings,  and 
commenced  preaching,  though  bu#  recently  converted. 
The  people  became  interested,  and  many  professed  relig- 
ion aihidst  great  opposition.  In  December  Bullock  and 
fourteen  others  were  baptized,  and  the  work  continued 
24 


278  MAINE.  [1811, 

till  one  hundred  and  eighty  were  numbered  among  the 
converts. 

The  August  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  1811,  was  held 
there  in  a  beautiful  grove,  and  two  thousand  persons  ea- 
gerly listened  to  the  preached  word.  At  a  meeting  for 
administering  the  Lord'^s  supper,  a  few  weeks  after  this,  a 
thousand  people  were  present,  and  two  hundred  of  them 
partook  of  the  consecrated  emblems. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  was  held  at  Edgecomb  "  on  the 
main,"  in  September,  and  Zachariah  Leach  preached 
three  times.  Many  were  awakened,  some  then  found 
m.ercy,  and  the  gracious  work  continued  through  the 
year,  extending  into  other  towns.  The  November  ses- 
sion was  held  at  Buxton,  and  the  reports  brought  revi- 
val intelligence  from  the  western  part  of  the  State.  Buz- 
zell  preached  Sabbath  morning  from  Acts  17  :  7,  "  There 
is  another  King,  one  Jesus."  Christ  was  set  forth  as  the 
head  of  his  own  kingdom,  and  attention  was  called  to  his 
life,  love,  and  doctrines  ;  to  his  humiliation  and  exalta- 
tion ;  to  his  right  to  the  crown,  the  nature  of  his  laws, 
and  the  character  of  his  subjects.  He  was  followed  in 
the  afternoon  by  John  Colby,  from  Vermont,  a  young  man 
of  great  promise,  who  made  a  most  solemn  and  moving 
appeal  from  the  text,  "  Will  ye  also  be  his  disciples  ?" 
Not  a  few  answered  in  the  affirmative,  and  from  that  day 
salvation  was  sought  and  found  by  many.  Colby  went 
from  the  Yearly  Meeting  to  Gorham,  where  some  were 
convicted  by  his  sweet  singing  as  well  as  by  his  effective 
preaching,  as  persons  had  been  in  other  places.  Proceed- 
ing eastward,  he  preached  in  most  of  the  towns  between 
Edgecomb  and  Belfast,  and  attended  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing in  MontviUe,  December  1st.  His  sermon,  from  Rev. 
14  :  6,  7,  "  And  I  saw  another  angel  fly  in  the  midst  of 
heaven,  having  the  everlasting  gospel  to  preach,"  &c., 
was  one  of  great  power.  When  he  came  to  enforce  the 
requirement,  "  Fear  God,"  he  several  times  repeated 
hose  words,  and  with  every  repetition  there  went  a  thrill 


1812.J  MONTVILLE     CHURCH.  279 

of  conviction  through  the  audience,  piercing  many  hearts- 
Thirty  persons  dated  their  Christian  experience  from  that 
meeting'. 

He  thought  of  returning  to  Vermont  the  next  morning, 
and  had  proceeded  about  half  a  mile,  when  he  met  persons 
coming  to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose,  as  they  thought 
the  Lord  had  work  for  him  in  that  place.  He  consented 
to  remain,  but  great  were  his  trials  of  mind  for  a  few  days. 
At  the  house  of  Dea.  True  he  found  his  four  sons  tenderly 
inclined  towards  religion,  and  prayer  was  proposed.  Af- 
ter the  pious  members  of  the  family  had  prayed,  Colby 
was  burdened  with  solicitude  for  those  who  had  not  bowed 
the  knee  to  God,  and  his  supplications  became  intensely 
earnest.  The  more  he  plead  in  their  behalf,  the  more 
burdened  in  spirit  did  he  feel.  His  access  to  God  was 
free,  and  it  seemed  that  he  could  not  cease  praying  till 
they  should  yield  to  Christ.  For  nearly  an  hour  he  wres- 
tled with  the  God  of  Jacob,  when  the  Spirit  came  in 
mighty  power,  and  all  in  the  room  were'  on  their  knees 
begging  for  mercy.  After  about  four  hours  more  of  ear- 
nest prayer,  the  spirit  of  supplication  was  withdrawn,  and 
all  was  peace.  Every  one  had  found  mercy,  and  all  unit- 
ed in  praise  to  God.  From  that  time  the  power  of  the 
gospel  was  abundantly  manifested,  and  fifty  professed  to 
have  experienced  a  change  of  heart  during  the  next  two 
weeks.  The  reformation  continued  through  the  year,  and 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  indulged  a  hope  in  Christ. 
He  continued  in  Montville  till  Februaiy,  when  he  organ- 
ized a  church  of  ninety-seven  members,  called  "  The 
Church  of  Christ." 

There  were  no  great  revivals  in  1812,  like  those  in  for- 
mer years,  but  ordinary  prosperity  was  enjoyed.  The 
Religious  Magazine  contains  a  letter  from  Rev.  Za<jlaariah 
Leach,  dated  March  18th,  saying,  "  I  write  to  inform  you 
(that  I  had  aa  agreeable  journey  through  the  Sandy  river 
<30untry.  I  attended  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  the  ex- 
cessive cold  was  uncomfortable  for  our  bodies,  but  we  had 


280  MAINE.  [1815. 

a  good  time  to  our  souls.  I  feel  a  satisfaction  in  relating 
to  you  that  the  elders  in  that  quarter  are  becoming  more 
and  more  imited,  and  more  submissive  to  each  other. 
Their  conference  meetings,  I  perceive,  become  more  har- 
monious every  year,  and  the  last  was  the  sweetest  of  all. 
The  churches  are  in  union  (except  in  a  very  few  places), 
and  they  have  had  considerable  additions  of  late." 

Rev.  John  Whitney  removed  to  Newfield  in  1813, 
where  all  was  dark  and  forbidding,  but  he  labored  faith- 
fully, and  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  converted  before 
twelve  months  had  elapsed.  In  a  retired  school  house, 
where  teacher  and  pupils  were  wont  to  meet  for  their  daily 
task,  the  spirit  of  conviction  at  length  became  so  general, 
that  instruction  ceased,  and  all  looked  to  the  Great  Teach- 
er for  salvation.  It  was  the  beginning  of  good  days  with 
many,  and  the  popular  teacher — Samuel  Burbank — be- 
came the  useful  minister.  Revivals  were  enjoyed  in  Par- 
sonsfield,  Bro^vnifield,  Vienna,  Montville,  Kennebunk,  and 
Wells.  The  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Lincoln- 
ville  in  1814,  was  followed  by  a  reformation  which 
extended  into  Hope  and  Montville. 

The  labors  of  David  Blaisdell  were  greatly  blessed  in 
the  year  1815,  and  he  baptized  thirty  in  Lebanon  and 
seventy  in  Acton.  From  the  latter  place  he  was  invited 
into  Sanford,  Avhere  many  were  converted,  and  a  branch 
of  the  Lebanon  church  was  there  constituted.  Revivals 
were  enjoyed  in  Hollis,  Gorham  and  Topsham  ;  and  about 
this  time  Benaiah  Pratt  was  laboring  in  the  Edgecomb 
Quarterly  Meeting  with  great  success.  In  Bristol  thirty 
were  converted,  and  in  Woolwich  over  one  hundred, 
where  he  preached  "  three  times  a  day  for  a  number  of 
weeks."  In  Edgecomb,  Boothbayand  Georgetown,  about 
one  Igandred  and  forty  were  converted,  most  of  Avhom  he 
baptized. 

Daniel  Hutchinson  had  been  an  acceptable  minister  for 
thirteen  years,  when  he  embraced  a  kind  of  modified 
Calvinism,  and  this  year  united  with  the  Calvinistic  Bap- 


1816.]  COLBY  AT  EASTPOKT.  281 

tists,  and  was  reordained,  Samuel  Hutchinson,  of  Buck- 
field,  a  cousin  of  Daniel,  and  son  of  Rev.  Joseph  Hutchin- 
son, had  been  a  successful  minister  for  several  years,  and 
&  literal  and  rigid  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  led  him 
to  adopt  extreme  views.  He  now  conscientiously  believed 
it  wrong  for  a  Christian  to  accumulate  earthly  goods,  to 
bear  arms,  hold  office,  take  an  oath,  receive  usury,  or  ex- 
pend money  for  superfluous  articles  of  dress.  He  would 
give  t©  every  man  that  asked  of  him,  and  lend,  hoping  for 
nothing  in  return.  Because  others  came  not  up  to  the 
letter  in  these  things,  he  was  grieved.  Says  one  of  his 
friends,  "  He  was  tenderly  labored  with,  and  tenderly 
labored  with  his  brethren  ;  but,  finding  it  impossible  to 
harmonize  their  views,  he  published  his  protest,  and  left 
the  connection."  Four  of  his  sons  afterwards  entered 
the  ministry,  and  were  efficient  in  building  up  the  doc- 
trines so  dear  to  their  father  in  the  strength  of  his  early 
years. 

On  the  5th  of  March,  1816,  the  sun  shone  pleasantly 
across  the  agitated  waters  of  Portland  harbor,  as  a  packet 
with  three  score  and  ten  passengers  left  its  moorings  for 
Eastport,  The  voyage  was  a  stormy  one,  and  John  Colby 
was  sea-sick  much  of  the  way.  When  confined  to  his 
berth,  he  overheard  the  passengers  say,  "  That  man  will 
die  soon."  "  Yes,"  said  another,  "  that's  a  church-yard 
cough."  For  two  months  he  was  unremitting  in  his 
labors  at  Eastport,  and  on  the  islands  in  Passamaquoddy 
bay.  "  A  free  and  open  conference  "  was  soon  appoint- 
ed, whose  weekly  meetings  were  well  attended,  and  great- 
ly blessed  to  the  people.  A  church  of  twelve  members 
was  organized  in  Eastport.  He  was  there  about  half  of 
the  time  for  the  year,  and  received  every  attention  from 
kind  friends,  though  his  strength  was  fast  wasting  by  a 
distressing  cough  and  the  loss  of  appetite.  The  damp  air 
and  his  excessive  labors  were  both  against  his  recovery, 
and  he  left  the  church  of  forty-seven  members,  for  rest  in 
a  milder  climate- 
24* 


282  MAINE.  [1816. 

Revivals  were  now  enjoyed  in  Wells,  Danville,  Poland, 
Durham,  Brunswick,  Camden  and  Lincolnville  ;  and  in 
Starks  the  number  that  professed  faith  in  Christ  was  more 
than  a  hundred.  George  Lamb  was  now  located  at 
Brunswick,  and  so  extensive  was  the  work  of  grace 
there,  that  it  has  usually  been  called  "  the  great  re- 
vival." 

A  reckless  young  school  teacher  in  Gorham  was  return- 
ing from  a  holiday's  excursion  in  Portland,  and  one  of  his 
comrades  said  to  him,  "  Clement,  your  wickedness  to-day 
has  fairly  frightened  me."  This  remark,  made  in  sport, 
was  so  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  Clement  Phinney  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  that  he  became  a  Christian,  and  soon 
after  entered  the  ministry.  Having  preached  in  PhiUips 
for  a  few  years,  he  left  in  June,  1816,  for  Gorham,  to 
secure  means  for  meeting  his  indebtedness.  A  good  re- 
ligious interest  had  commenced  before  his  arrival,  and, 
instead  of  working  at  his  trade  as  a  cooper,  he  entered  at 
once  into  his  Master's  service,  and  sixty  Avere  soon  con- 
verted. Remembering  that  the  workman  is  worthy  of  his 
hire,  the  people  of  Gorham  furnished  him  with  means 
sufficient  to  meet  all  his  demands.  On  his  return,  he  fell 
in  company  with  a  Universalist  in  Canton,  and  finally  said 
to  him,  "  Sir,  I  perceive  that  thou  art  in  the  bonds  of  ini- 
quity ;  shall  I  pray  for  you  ?"  "  Do  as  you  please,"  said 
the  stranger  ;  ".  do  your  duty."  Phinney  immediately 
dismounted,  and,'  holding  his  horse  by  the  rein,  he  knelt 
in  prayer  for  his  travelling  companion,  whose  curiosity 
led  him  to  listen  with  respectful  attention.  They  soon 
parted,  and  years  passed  on,  when  a  man  took  Phinney 
by  the  hand,  at  the  close  of  a  meeting  in  an  adjoining 
town,  and  said,  "  Did  you  pray  for  a  Universalist  on  Can- 
ton Hill  twenty  years  ago  ?"  "I  did,"  was  the  reply. 
^'I  am  the  man,"  said  the  stranger.  "  After  we  parted, 
I  began  to  feel  wretched.  I  tried  to  pray  ;  and  went 
back  to  the  very  place  where  you  bowed  in  prayer,  and 
looked  at  the  print  of  your  knees,  still  visible.     I  had  no 


1816.]  REVIEW   OF   rand's   CHARGES.  283 

peace  till  I  was  born  again,  and  have  often  thanked  God 
for  your  faithfulness  to  me." 

Phinney  now  removed  to  Standish  Neck,  where  he  was 
ordained  during  a  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting. 
White  preached  the  sermon,  and  Leach  made  the  prayer, 
and  both,  by  the  help  of  God,  exceeded  themselves. 

In  "  Two  Sermons  on  Christian  Fellowship,"  preached 
by  Rev.  Asa  Rand  of  Gorham,  and  published  by  the  au- 
thor, he  says  of  the  Freewill  Baptists,  "  They  often  speak 
in  terms  of  irreverence  and  even  contempt  of  the  sacred 
volume.  Often  have  I  heard  among  them  myself  that  .the 
Bible  is  not  the  word  of  God.  Their  preachers  and  ex- 
horters  pretend  to  speak  what  is  immediately  given  them 
from  above.  All  real  Christians  will  admit  that  the  Spir- 
it helps  the  infirmities  of  true  gospel  ministers  to  preach 
according  to  the  Scriptures.  But  these  have  new  truths, 
as  they  say,  revealed.  They  are  much  influenced  by 
dreams,  visions,  and  remarkable  impulses,  in  determining 
their  duty,  and  obtaining  evidence  of  their  safe  state. 
They  glory  in  an  ignorant  ministry.  Many  of  their  min- 
isters have  scarce  ability  to  read  the  Scriptures,"  &c.,  &c. 

This  unjust  and  scurrilous  attack  upon  the  denomina- 
tion was  allowed  to  pass  unrebuked,  save  by  verbal  deni- 
als, for  six  years.  It  was  then  revived,  and  this  fact  led 
John  Buzzell  to  review  the  charges  in  an  article  of  nine 
pages  in  his  Magazine. ^  The  kind  spirit  in  which  the 
article  was  written  gave  edge  to  its  severity,  and  he  frank- 
ly admitted  that  Freewill  Baptists  had  great  faith  in  the 
guiding  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  also  admitted 
that  there  were  men  in  Gorham,  calling  themselves  Free- 
will Baptists,  who  answered  the  description  of  Rand  in 
many  respects,  but  they  often  opposed  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  and  were  not  fellowshipped  by  the  denomination. 
To  take  such  men  as  a  specimen  of  the  denomination, 
was  as  unjust  as  it  would  be  to  judge  the  Congregational- 

1  This  work  was  published  quarterly,  the  first  volume  in  1811  and  '12, 
and  the  second  in  1820,  '21  and  '22. 


284  MAiKE.  [1817. 

ists  by  this  author.  Buzzell  denies  and  repels  in  unquali- 
fied terms,  the  charge  of  "  contempt  of  the  sacred  vol- 
ume ;"  affirming  that  the  Bible  is  studied  by  Freewill 
Baptists  more  than  any  and  every  other  book.  As  to  the 
-charge  of  an  "  ignorant  ministry,"  he  says,  "  We  are  all 
ignorant  enough,  but  I  am  positive  that  he  labored  under 
a  very  great  mistake,  I  know  of  no  people  who  strive 
harder  to  obtain  useful  instruction,  but  when  we  place 
learning  instead  of  sound  abilities,  or  in  the  place  of  grace, 
we  always  do  wrong."  In  view  of  the  admission  that 
"  the  Spirit  helps  the  infirmities  of  true  gospel  ministers," 
he  says,  "  I  frankly  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  he  had 
not  much  of  the  Spirit  to  help  his  infirmities  when  he 
wrote  and  read  those  two  sermons  on  Christian  Fellow- 
ship." 

Asa  McGray  had  been  a  licensed  preacher  among  the 
Methodists,  and  in  1814,  or  a  little  before,  he  united  with 
the  Freewill  Baptists  ;  but  this  change  of  church  relations 
never  alienated  him  from  the  people  of  his  early  associa- 
tions. In  September,  1816,  he  went  to  Windsor,  Hunts 
County,  Nova  Scotia,  and  was  the  first  Freewill  Baptist 
minister  to  unfurl  the  banner  of  the  cross  in  that  province. 
He  soon  organized  his  first  church,  and  for  twenty-seven 
years  was  a  voluntary  exile  in  that  land,  where  other 
churches  were  soon  planted,  ministers  ordained,  and  the 
Barrington  Quarterly  Meeting  organized. 

In  1817  the  churches  in  Harpswell,  Durham,  Lewiston, 
Monmouth,  Farmington  and  Starks  were  greatly  revived  ; 
but,  in  Saco,  HoUis  and  Buxton,  extensive  revivals  were 
checked,  and  the  cause  of  Christ  grievously  injured  by 
the  deceptive  and  wicked  <50urse  of  one  whose  supreme 
rottenness  was  manifest  in  his  disgraceful  end.  An  excit- 
ed state  of  religious  interest  had  prevailed  in  Western 
Maine  for  many  months,  and  in  difierent  denominations. 
Supernatural  influences  and  visions  were  claimed  by  some, 
and  an  evil  spirit  was'  pushing  others  to  great  extrava- 
gances, and  even  indecencies.     As  Napoleon  threw  himself 


1817.]  COCHRANISM.  285 

upon  the  chaos  of  the  French  Revolution,  and,  by  a  fore- 
sight and  energy  almost  Divine,  brought  order  out  of  con- 
fusion, and  turned  every  stream  of  popular  favor  to  his 
own  aggrandizement,  so  Jacob  Cochran  threw  himself  in- 
to the  excitement  of  1817,  and,  with  a  shrewdness  and 
duplicity  at  which  his  cloven-footed  master  might  have 
blushed,  began  a  career  as  flattering  in  its  commencemeBt 
as  it  was  infamous  in  its  speedy  termination.  Cochran 
was  a  native  of  Enfield,  N.  H,,  where  he  became  a  zeal- 
ous religionist,  and  his  captivating  influence  over  a  few 
silly  women,  awakened  many  suspicions.  He  went  to 
Maine  as  a  preacher  of  no  denomination,  and  wished  to 
found  none,  as  he  professed ;  but  his  dark,  penetrating 
eye,  pleasing  manners,  fluent  speech,  and  his  keen,  vision- 
ary powers  of  mind  peculiarly  adapted  him  for  the  part  he 
was  about  to  play. 

In  the  Life  of  Clement  Phinney,  Cochranism  is  treated 
at  considerable  length,  and  the  author — Rev.  D.  M.  Gra- 
ham— ^liaving  lived  at  Saco,  studied  the  character  of  this 
impostor  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  He 
says,  "  Though  uneducated,  he  was  by  no  means  deficient 
in  what  is  called  native  talent ;  indeed,  he  seemed  to  pos- 
sess a  large  share  of  it ;  but  it  partook  of  shrewdness 
rather  than  sound  discretion.  If  he  was  not  able  at  once 
to  carry  his  point,  he  had  that  self-possession  which  can 
successfully  conceal  disappointed  feelings,  till  it  at  length 
reaps  from  defeat  the  fruits  of  victory.  If  he  possessed 
not  genuine  piety,  he  well  knew  how  to  assume  the  look 
and  gesture  of  extraordinary  sanctity  ;  and  if  he  had  not 
the  powers  adequate  to  true  eloquence,  he  could  successfully 
sway  the  multitude  by  vehement  zeal,  and  a  kind  of  mes- 
meric inspiration." 

He  first  introduced  himself  to  the  Freewill  Baptists  in 
Scarborough,  where  his  preaching  attracted  no  particular 
attention,  save  that  it  was  bold,  visionary,  and  dictatorial. 
Extending  his  labors  into  other  towns,  his  popularity  in- 
creased, till  he  was  put  forward  in  a  protracted  meeting 


286  MAINE.  [1817. 

in  the  north  of  Saco,  by  general  consent,  whefe,  for  six 
weeks,  the  excitement  was  most  intense.  Not  less  than 
three  hundred  professed  to  find  mercy,  and  from  that 
time  Cochran  was  the  hero  of  the  day,  admired  and  al- 
most worshipped  by  an  excited  people.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  twelve  months  from  the  commencement  of  this 
extraordinary  interest,  not  less  than  two  thousand  in  south- 
western Maine  made  a  profession  of  religion.  Churches 
of  all  denominations  shared  in  the  work,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, and  ministers  generally  gave  it  their  approval, 
though  regretting  its  unhealthy  excitement  and  great  ex- 
cesses. 

From  Cochran's  first  entrance  into  Maine,  extreme 
opinions  of  his  character  were  entertained.  Some  thought 
him  to  be  the  most  holy  man  that  had  appeared  since  the 
days  of  the  apostles  ;  and  others  regarded  him  as  a  devil 
incarnate.  If  he  was  a  Christian  man  at  first,  his  success 
and  popularity  rendered  him  vain  and  self-confident,  tUl 
he  was  left  by  God  in  his  folly.  The  general  opinion, 
however,  was  that  he  had  never  been  a  good  man,  and 
the  genuine  conversions  under  his  preaching  Avere  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  truths  he  uttered, 
though  his  own  heart  was  in  secret  rebellion  against 
them.  Near  the  close  of  the  year  he  doubtless  thought 
himself  so  strongly  intrenched  in  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  that  he  could  throw  off  his  mask  and  develop  his 
true  character.  Says  "  An  Eye  Witness,"  ^  "  I  do  verily 
believe  that  no  part  of  our  wide  extended  country  could 
produce  a  more  unsuspecting,  innocent,  and  moral  body 
of  people,  especially  the  younger  portion  of  it,  than  was 
there  located." 

The  developments  of  Cochranism  were  by  rapid  and 
successive  steps,  and  in  about  the  following  order  :  He 
professed  to  have  received  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
himself,  and  to  be  authorized  to  administer  it  to  others, 

*  A  Correspondent  of  the  Christian  Herald — See  Morning  Star,  Julj 
24th,  1839. 


1818.]  COCHRANISM.  287 

after  which  they  Would  live  without  sin.  He  disapproved 
of  church  organizations,  declared  all  sectarian  names 
to  be  marks  of  the  beast,  and  all  church  members  to  be 
in  Babylon.  He  introduced  rebaptism  as  a  symbolic 
cleansing  from  sectarian  stains,  and  then  came  the  propo- 
sition to  have  "  all  things  common."  Nor  did  he  stop 
here.  A  proclamation  was  finally  issued,  declaring  that 
all  marriage  vows  were  disannulled,  and  that  spiritual 
ties  alone  were  to  be  regarded  as  valid  among  Christians. 
This  last  announcement  was  as  pleasing  to  some  as  it  was 
startling  to  others.  At  each  of  these  successive  steps  his 
adherents  left  him  by  tens  and  hundreds  at  a  time.  And 
these  steps  were  taken  by  strides  in  other  directions, 
equally  foolish  and  wicked.  Cochran  and  his  followers 
introduced  themselves  and  their  foolish  delusions  into 
churches  of  different  denominations,  far  and  near,  creat- 
ing divisions  and  disturbances  wherever  they  went.  The 
old  Jewish  passover  was  revived,  the  power  of  working 
miracles  was  claimed,  and  Cochran  was  the  medium  of 
comm^unication  from  God  to  man.  The-  stench  of  this 
pollution  had  been  snufied  by  other  vultures,  and  the 
scum  and  effervescence  of  all  parties  centered  here. 

Says  the  author  of  Cochranism  Delineated,^  "  I  had 
such  a  discovery  of  the  mystery  of  iniquity  working  to 
the  subversion  of  all  social  ties  between  husband  and  wife, 
parents  and  children,  rulers  and  ruled,  ministers  and  peo- 
ple, the  rising  generation  corrupted  by  the  introduction  of 
such  vicious  practices  under  the  cloak  of  religion — that  it 
seemed  as  if  I  should  be  constrained  to  cry  day  and  night 
against  the  abominations  that  maketh  desolate."  Rev. 
George  Parcher  lived  in  the  midst  of  these  delusions,  and 
standing  boldly  up  against  them,  he  saved  most  of  his 
church  from  impending  ruin.  "  One  Saturday  morning, 
leaving  his  field,  his  horses  in  the  furrow,  he  went  from 
house  to  house  among  the  doubtful,  and  those  already, 
gone  over,  pleading  with  them,   in  the  name   of  his  Mas 

'  A  Pamphlet  published  in  1819,  by  I#v.  Ephraim  Stinchlield. 


288  MAiNB.  [1818. 

ter,  tQ  flee  from  the  destroyer.  The  next  day  he  went  to 
their  assembly,  and,  at  length,  obtaining  permission  to 
address  them,  he  charged  them  in  the  name  of  God  to 
cease  from  their  abominations."  ^  Many  were  saved 
through  his  faithfulness.  But  the  crisis  had  now  come. 
Cochran's  "  dreary  mansion  in  Saco  was  provided  with 
wooden  shutters  on  the  outside,  the  better  to  conceal,  no 
doubt,  the  works  of  darkness  practised  within  its  walls. 
The  family  consisted  of  twelve  females,  besides  those  who 
visited  the  house  occasionally."  This  cage  of  unclean 
beasts,  together  with  his  denunciatory  harangues,  the 
divisions  he  had  caused  in  neighborhoods,  families  and 
churches,  and  the  filching  of  property  by  deceptive  influ- 
ences, had  opened  the  eyes  of  all  but  a  very  few  ;  and  the 
public  would  tolerate  his  wickedness  no  longer.  In  Feb- 
raary,  1819,  he  was  arrested  ;  five  bills  of  indictment 
were  found  against  him  ;  he  was  tried  for  adultery,  found 
guilty,  and  sentenced  to  the  State  Prison,  where  he 
justly  suffered  for  his  atrocious  crimes.  His  imprison- 
ment so  crushed  his  spirits,  that  he  attempted  but  little 
after  his  release,  and  was  soon  called  to  his  final  account. 

And  what  a  career  Avas  his  !  In  fifteen  months  he  rose 
from  obscurity  to  great  popularity,  having  "  at  that  time 
not  less  than  four  thousand  Christian  friends."^  In  the 
next  fifteen  months,  he  alienated  and  repelled  them  all ;  so 
that  he  was  left  with  only  eight  or  ten  of  his  most  infatu- 
ated followers.  Such,  in  short,  was  the  rise  and  fall  of 
Cochranism  ;  and  it  is  a  lesson  of  warning  to  aspiring 
and  petted  young  men.  It  is  a  rebuke  to  any  people  that 
will  receive  a  stranger  to  their  bosom,  and  give  him 
prominence  and  position  because  he  is  smart,  to  the  neg- 
lect of  tried  and  substantial  men  ;  doing  an  injury  to  him 
and  the  cause  of  Christ. 

Very  extensive  revivals  were  prevalent  in  1818.  In 
Edgecomb  one  hundred  were  added  to  the  church,  and  in 

*Life  of  Clement  Phinney^.  88.  *"  An  Eye  Witness,"  above 

cited.  ^ 


1819.]  REVIVALS.  289 

Montville  forty  were  converted  under  the  labors  of  Rev. 
Moses  McFarland,  and  the  second  church  was  organized. 
Rev.  Ward  Lock,  of  Chesterville,  in  a  letter  to  the  Chris- 
tian Herald,  dated  May  14th,  says,  "  The  Lord  has 
wrought  wonders  in  these  regions.  In  Monmouth  and 
the  adjacent  towns,  a  large  number  have  been  brought  to 
rejoice  in  the  truth.  A  glorious  reformation  has  been  in 
progress  for  sometime  in  Fairfield,  Canaan,  Clinton,  and 
CornviUe.  A  reformation  commenced  in  Mount  Vernon 
about  two  months  ago,  and  still  continues  in  a  powerful 
manner.  "We  met  last  Sabbath,  two  sermons  were  preach- 
ed, and  thirty  were  baptized,  and  fifteen  have  been  bap- 
tized since  then."  -  Chesterville,  Wilton,  Temple,  New 
Portland  and  Anson  were  greatly  blessed,  and  in  nine 
months  Thomas  Lewis  baptized  one  hundred  and  eighty. 
The  church  in  Parsonsfield  enjoyed  uninterrupted  prosper- 
ity during  the  year,  and  sixty  were  added. 

The  year  1819  was  one  of  revivals,  especially  in  the 
Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting,  which  now  numbered 
twenty  churches  and  500  members.  A  letter  from  John 
Foster,  dated  Wilton,  November  15th,  and  published  in 
the  Religious  Informer,  says,  "  The  reformation  in  Wil- 
ton and  Chesterville  was  extensive,  one  hundred  having 
professed  faith  in  Christ.  In  New  Sharon,  seventy-five 
or  eighty  have  been  made  the  hopeful  subjects  of  grace, 
and  Temple  and  Farmington  have  shared  in  the  good 
work.  In  New  Portland  and  Kingfield,  Eld.  Hutchins 
has  baptized  over  one  hundred,  and  four  churches  have 
been  gathered  in  that  region."  A  Sabbath  school  was 
now  established  by  Foster,  and  sustained  through  the 
season ;  the  first  of  which  we  have  any  notice  in  the 
denomination.  Ward  Lock  confirms  the  above  account 
in  a  letter  to  the  Christian  Herald,  and  says,  "  It  is 
the  most  glorious  time  in  these  parts  we  ever  saw." 
Allen  Files  was  successfully  laboring  in  Lincolnville, 
and  one  hundred  indulged  a  hope  in  Christ.  There 
had  been  a  gradual  work  of  grace  in  Lebanon  for  four 
25      ^ 


290  MAINE.  [1819. 

years,  in  which  time  Blaisdell  baptized  one  hundred  and 
five. 

The  people  in  Maine  Avere  now  greatly  interested  in  the 
preliminary  measures  for  an  independent  State  govern- 
ment, especially  the  formation  of  a  Constitution.  The 
opposition  was  strong  and  determined,  but  the  move- 
ment met  with  great  favor  from  the  majority,  including 
almost  every  Freewill  Baptist.  It  was  a  religious  inter- 
est, more  than  political,  that  enrolled  them  there.  No 
general  law  had  been  enacted  by  the  Massachusetts  Leg- 
islature, acknowledging  their  rights  as  a  denomination, 
in  common  with  the  Congregationalists.  The  right  ta 
collect  a  parish  tax  from  them  was  still  claimed,  and 
they  came  up  to  the  ballot  box  as  one  man,  feeling  assur- 
ed that  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  were 
so  well  understood  that  the  new  government  Avould  re- 
spect their  rights.  And  they  were  not  mistaken.  The 
Constitution  was  just  and  liberal,  placing  all  denomina- 
tions on  the  same  footing  ;  and  it  was  ratified  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  people. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1810,  Clinton,  Exeter,  and 
Litchfield  ;  '11,  Harmony  ;  '12,  Danville,  Industry, 
Montville,  Palermo,  and  Poland  ;  '14,  Monroe,  Temple, 
and  "Waldo  ;  '15,  Jefferson,  and  Whitefield  ;  '17,  Harps- 
well,  and  Second  Wilton  ;  '18,  Bethel,  Bowdoinham,  Sec- 
ond Bowdoin,  Bowdoin  and  Lisbon,  Second  Lisbon,  Sec- 
ond Montville,  and  Sumner ;  '19,  Biddeford  and  Kenne- 
bunkport,  and  Chesterville.  Hebron  and  Buckfield  were 
organized  in  this  decade,  but  the  year  is  unknoAvn. 

Ordinations.  In  1810,  Joseph  Dyer,  James  Elliott, 
William  Emerson,  and  Thomas  Lewis;  '11,  Jeremiah 
Bullock,  Joseph  Higgins,  Timothy  Johnson,  and  John 
York  ;  '12,  David  Blaisdell,  and  Joseph  Goodwin  ;  '13, 
John  Foster,  George  Lamb,  and  Ward  Lock ;  '14,  Asa 
McGray ;  '15,  Jonathan  Clay,  Jonathan  Palmer,  and 
Joseph  White  ;  '16,  Samuel  Burbank,  and  Clement  Phin- 
ney  ;    '17,  Josiah  Farewell,  and  Lemuel  Norton  ;    '18, 


1819,]  ORDINATIONS — DEATHS.  291 

Jonathan  Brown,  Zachariah  Jordan,  Joseph  Osgood,  Na- 
thaniel Purrington,  and  Joseph  Robinson  ;  '19,  Nathaniel 
Harvey,  and  Allen  Files.  The  year  in  which  Jesse  Briggs, 
Thomas  Dudley,  and  James  Tuttle  were  ordained,  is  un- 
known. 

Deaths.  Rev.  Adam  Elliott  of  Brunswick,  died  in 
1813,  and  it  is  probable  that  both  James  and  Nathaniel 
Elliott  died  in  this  decade. 


292  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1810. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

1810—1820. 

Great  E,e\-ivals — Yearly  Meeting  in  Sandwich — Labors  of  Colby — ^Recov- 
ery of  a  Sick  Woman — Joshua  Quinby — Division  of  the  New  Durham 
Quarterly  Meeting — Sandwich  Quarterly  Meeting — Weare  Quarterly 
Meeting — Charitable  Society — Revival  in  Meredith — Deaths  of  Shep- 
herd, Knowlton  and  Jackson-rJoseph  Boody — Discouragements  of 
1816 — ^Revivals — Ministers  in  lEe  Legislature — Toleration  Act — Re- 
ligious Informer — Conference  at  Widow  Randall's — Randall  Estate 
Purchased — Church  at  Newport — Churches  Organized — Ordinations — 
Deaths. 

The  year  1810  was  one  of  revivals  in  New  Hampshire. 
The  Canterbury  church  received  an  addition  of  72  ; 
Springfield,  66  ;  New  Hampton,  38  ;  Second  Strafford, 
54 ;  Raymond,  40  ;  and  in  Andover  an  addition  of  40 
was  reported  at  one  time,  and  the  number  of  conversions 
was  more  than  100.  Of  the  extent  of  the  revivals  in 
Tamworth,  Sandwich,  Meredith  Centre,  First  Upper  Gil- 
manton,  Wendel,  "Weare,  Deerfield,  and  Candia,  we  are 
unable  to  speak. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  was  held  at  Sandwich  in  1811,  and 
never  had  the  attendance  of  ministers  been  greater,  or  the 
I'eports  more  encouraging.  A  platform  sufficiently  large 
for  seating  fifty  persons  was  built  in  a  beautiful  grove, 
and  convenient  seats  Avere  prepared,  so  that  on  the  Sab- 
bath, twenty-five  hundred  persons  assembled  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God  in  a  temple  not  made  with  hands.  Sermons 
were  preached  by  Richard  Martin,  John  BuzzeU,  Aaron 
Buzzell,  and  John  Colby.     It  was  a  time  of  great  religious 


1811.]  LABORS  OF  COLBY,  29S 

interest  in  that  part  of  the  State,  and  Christians  came  to 
the  Yearly  Meeting  strong  in  faith  and  ready  for  labor,  so 
that  many  sinners  were  converted.  Those  were  palmy 
days  in  the  Sandwich  church  ;  an  addition  of  twenty 
members  was  reported  to  the  next  Quarterly  Meeting,  the 
whole  number  then  being  330.  The  churches  in  Jack- 
son, Albany,  Thornton,  Ellsworth,  Lisbon,  New  Hamp- 
ton, Wolf  borough,  Alton,  and  Sanbornton,  received  from 
twenty  to  fifty  members  each,  and  eighty  united  with  the 
ohurch  in  Canterbury, 

The  labors  of  John  Colby  were  so  successful  that  a 
connected  account  of  them  for  the  year  will  here  be  given. 
He  left  home  [Sutton,  Vt.],  and  came  to  Lisbon  the  last 
of  January,  where  he  attended  several  meetings,  at  one 
of  which  nine  or  ten  confessed  Christ  for  the  first  time. 
He  baptized  ten,  and  passed  on  to  Sandwich,  the  place  of 
his  birth,  with  the  intention  of  soon  going  to  Rhode  Isl- 
and. As  his  custom  was,  he  began  to  appoint  meetings 
in  diiferent  parts  of  the  town,  and  soon  his  hands  were 
fuU  of  labor  as  his  heart  was  of  praise.  For  two  months 
he  continued  warning  impenitent  souls  to  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come,  and  pointing  inquiring  ones  to  the  Lamb 
of  God.  One  hundred  were  converted ;  and  in  April  he 
went  to  Tamworth,  where  the  youth  were  soon  melted 
into  tenderness,  and  a  few  gave  their  hearts  to  God.  At 
■one  of  his  meetings  there,  he  stepped  upon  the  stand  from 
which  he  was  to  preach,  and  stood  "  for  some  time "  in 
profound  silence,  surveying  the  congregation  with  solemn- 
countenance  and  piercing  eye.  Before  a  word  was  spoken, 
two  persons,  an  active  politician  and  a  thoughtless  young 
woman,  were  thus  convicted  of  their  inability  to  withstand 
the  all-searching  eye  of  their  final  Judge.  They  were 
soon  reconciled  to  God,  and  the  good  work  gradually  con- 
tinued. On  the  3d  of  June  he  went  to  Moultonborough, 
and,  as  he  entered  the  crowded  house,  he  began  to  sing  in 
his  peculiarly  solemn  and  impressive  manner,  so  that 
when  he  closed,  the  audience  was  in  a  flood  of  tears, 
25* 


294  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1811. 

From  that  very  hour  the  work  of  conviction  commenced, 
and  several  professed  to  find  mercy  that  same  day,  the 
meeting  continuing  from  ten  in  the  morning  till  dark. 
During  the  summer  he  had  stated  appointments  in  six  or 
eight  different  towns,  and  he  baptized  46  in  Eaton,  16  in 
Tarn  worth,  54  in  Sandwich,  16  in  Moultonborough,  24  in 
Centre  Harbor,  and  62  in  Meredith. 

As  a  speaker,  Colby's  power  of  reaching  the  heart  has 
seldom  been  equalled.  There  was  no  apparent  effort  to 
move  the  sympathies  of  an  audience,  but  when  he  present- 
ed the  dangers  of  the  sinner,  or  the  love  of  Christ,  the 
expression  of  his  covmtenance,  the  solemn  and  yet  sweet 
tones  of  his  voice,  indeed,  his  entire  manner,  showed  that 
his  OAvn  soul  was  so  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  his 
subject,  that  he  was  uncommonly  impressive.  People 
would  sometimes  fortify  themselves  against  the  moving 
power  of  his  eloquence  before  going  to  meeting,  by  a 
most  determined  purpose  and  verbal  pledges.  A  young 
lady  in  Holderness  protested  to  her  associates  that  she 
could  resist  him,  and  would  not  weep  "  if  one-half  of  the 
meeting  died."  Her  haughty  air  and  contempt  of  religion 
so  impressed  his  mind  with  a  sense  of  her  lost  condition, 
that  he  felt  constrained  to  say,  in  closing  his  remarks,  that 
a  young  lady  present  would  be  called  away  from  earth  in 
a  few  days  if  she  did  not  repent.  She  and  others  applied 
the  remark  to  herself,  and  within  a  week  she  was  taken 
sick,  and  was  supposed  to  be  in  a  dying  state.  At  her 
special  request,  Colby  held  a  meeting  at  the  house  Sab- 
bath evening,  and,  soon  after  the  exercises  commenced, 
called  her  by  name,  and  said  substantially,  "  Christ  when 
on  earth  had  power  to  heal  the  sick,  and  even  raise,  the 
dead.  His  power  is  the  same  now.  He  is  able  to  raise 
you  in  a  moment,  convert  your  soul,  and  give  you  a 
tongue  to  praise  his  heavenly  name."  He  then  prayed 
for  her  recovery  and  conversion,  with  great  earnestness 
and  strong  faith.  She  prayed  for  herself,  and  in  fifteen 
minutes  yielded  all  to  Christ  and  received  the  evidence  of 


1812.]  NEW   DURHAM    Q.    MEETING   DIVIDED.  295 

her  acceptance.  From  that  hour  she  was  restored  to 
health,  and  happy  in  God.  We  enter  into  no  specula- 
tions as  to  the  nature  of  her  illness,  or  its  dependence  up- 
on her  state  of  mind,  but  record  the  well-attested  fact  to 
show  the  overpowering  convictions  that  often  attended  the 
ministrations  of  that  good  man. 

Joshua  Quinby  experienced  religion  and  united  with  the 
Calvinistic  Baptists  in  Weare,  in  1786.  Ten  years  after- 
wards he  removed  to  Lisbon,  where  he  was  ordained  in 
1800.  Being  dissatisfied  with  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism, 
he  now  made  a  public  renunciation  of  them,  and  eleven 
others  left  with  him,  and  a  Freewill  Baptist  church  was 
organized. 

The  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  now  numbered 
more  than  fifty  churches  and  about  3000  members.  The 
question  of  its  division  had  been  introduced,  discussed  and 
deferred,  and  the  conviction  was  becoming  quite  general 
that  the  time  for  its  division  had  arrived.  In  accordance 
with  the  expressed  wish  of  the  churches,  it  was  efiected 
as  follows ;  The  churches  east  of  the  Merrimack  river, 
and  south  of  Winnipesaukee  lake  and  river,  were  to  con- 
stitute the  "  South"  or  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting. 
The  churches  east  and  north  of  the  lake  and  river,  were 
to  constitute  the  "  North"  or  Sandwich  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing ;  and  the  churches  west  of  the  Merrimack,  the  "  West" 
or  Andover,  but  now  Weare,  Quarterly  Meeting. 

The  two  new  Quarterly  Meetings  were  organized  Au- 
gust 19,  1812.  The  ten  Northern  churches,  Wolfborough, 
Meredith,  New  Hampton,  Bridgewater,  Ellsworth,  Sand- 
wich, Tamworth,  Eaton,  Albany,  and  Jackson,  met  at 
Wolfborough,  where  the  Sandwich  Quarterly  Meeting 
was  organized.  Sermons  were  preached  by  Joshua  Quin- 
by and  Mark  Fernald ;  and  the  Lisbon  church  of  about 
one  hundred  members  requested  admission,  and  was  unan- 
imously received  at  the  next  session  held  with  that  church. 
The  Weare  Quarterly  Meeting  was  organized  at  New- 
bury, and  consisted  of  the  churches  in  Weare,  Newbury, 


296  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1813^- 

Sutton,  Springfield,  First  Anclover,  and  Second  Andover. 
Eev.  Ebenezer  Chase  Avas  chosen  Moderator,  and  Rev. 
William  Dodge  Clerk.  Sermons  were  preached  by  Elijah 
Watson,  Ebenezer  Chase,  and  Simeon  Dana, 

Enoch  Place,  then  unordained,  was  the  principal  labor- 
er in  the  great  revival  in  Strafford.  He  "  attended  meet- 
ing about  every  day  for  sixty  days,  and  the  work  was  mar- 
vellous." He  says,  "  I  have  known  sixty-seven  persons  to 
speak  in  one  meeting ;  and  twenty-seven  of  those  happy 
converts  were  baptized  in  one  day  by  Eld,  Otis  and  Dea, 
Saunders," 

After  many  years  of  labor  and  sacrifice  in  the  denomi- 
nation, some  of  the  first  ministers  had  died  and  left  their 
families  in  indigent  circumstances  ;  and  some  of  the  liv- 
ing were  beconaing  superannuated,  with  grim  poverty 
staring  them  in  the  face.  The  prime  and  strength  of  their 
days  had  been  given  to  the  cause  of  Christ  without  much 
remuneration,  and  it  seemed  cruel  that  they,  or  their  sur- 
viving families,  should  be  left  without  the  necessary  com- 
forts of  life.  All  felt  that  something  should  be  done  for 
their  relief,  and  the  formation  of  a  society  to  collect  funds 
and  disburse  the  interest  thereof,  was  proposed  by  Samuel 
Runnals,  Esq.,  a  ruling  elder  in  the  New  Durham  church. 
At  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  1812,  the  Elders'  Conference 
appointed  him  as  an  agent  to  obtain  an  act  of  incorpora- 
tion for  such  a  society  ;  and  he  was  successful.  The  peti- 
tioners and  others  met  at  New  Durham  the  day  before  the 
Yearly  Meeting,  and  the  New  Hampshire  Charitable  So- 
ciety was  then  organized,  June  11,  1813.  The  first  ofii- 
cers  were,  Samuel  Runnals,  Esq.,  President ;  John  Shep- 
herd, Esq.,  Vice  President ;  Rev.  Moses  Cheney,  Secre- 
tary ;  and  Rev.  Micajah  Otis,  Treasurer.  The  Directors 
were,  Samuel  Runnals,  Ebenezer  Knowlton,  WiUiamBuz- 
zell,  Obadiah  Mooney,  and  John  Shepherd — now, 

"  All  to  the  grave  gone  down." 
The  funds  of  the  Society  did  not  then  exceed  $200,  of 


1814.]  DEATH  OF  SHEPHERD.  297 

which  #100  were  given  by  Runnals/  850  by  Leavitt 
Clough  of  Canterbury,  and  the  balance  came  from  those 
who  made  themselves  life  members  by  the  payment  of  $5 
each.  In  1860  the  funds  were  $2397,81,  and  the  dis- 
bursements had  amounted  to  about  $3000. 

Two  thousand  people  attended  the  Yearly  Meeting  at 
New  Durham  in  1813,  and  sermons  were  preached  by 
John  Buzzell,  Abner  Jones,  and  Ebenezer  Chase  ;  and 
Colby's  pathetic  exhortations  added  much  to  the  interest 
of  the  occasion.  Ebenezer  Knowlton  preached  at  the  Au- 
gust Quarterly  Meeting  in  Meredith,  and  sinners  were 
awakened.  He  continued  his  labors  in  the  vicinity  of 
Meredith  Centre  at  regular  intervals,  and  the  revival  pro- 
gressed till  he  baptized  one  hundred  and  thirty.  There 
were  but  few  extensive  revivals  at  this  time,  as  the  war 
with  England  was  distracting  the  public  mind. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  in  1814  was  held  in  Weare,  and 
reports  were  received  from  most  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ings in  New  England.  Intelligence  was  also  received 
from  a  small  Quarterly  Meeting  in  western  New  York, 
and  another  in  southern  Ohio.  This  news  from  a  far 
country  was  truly  encouraging,  and  quite  a  missionary 
spirit  was  awakened.  Knowlton  and  Cheney,  King  from 
Vermont,  and  Buzzell  from  Maine,  preached  four  very 
powerful  sermons. 

The  death  of  Rev.  Josiah  Shepherd  of  Gilmanton  car- 
ried sadness  to  many  hearts.  He  was  accidentally  cut 
down  in  the  morning  of  his  usefulness,  and  the  moral  cir- 

1  Samuel  Runnals  entered  the  American  army  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  with  his  father  and  three  brothers.  At  the  battles  of  Trenton  and 
Brandywine  he  had  command  of  Gen.  Sullivan's  Life  Guards,  and  at 
Germantown  was  one  of  his  aids.  He  settled  in  New  Durham  near  the 
close  of  1780,  and  he  says,  "  After  serving  my  country  between  five  and 
six  years  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  I  resigned  my  captain's  commission, 
under  "Washington,  and  enlisted  as  a  soldier  under  the  Prince  of  Peace." 
As  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  he  tried  745  cases,  and  only  eight  persons  ap- 
pealed to  a  higher  tribunal.  In  him  was  united  the  business  man  and 
the  Christian ;  and  he  gave  to  benevolent  purposes  more  than  ^1700  in 
money. 


298  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [^1815. 

<3umstances  attending  his  death,  when  considered  from  our 
standpoint,  cast  an  additional  gloom  over  the  scene.  The 
financial  afikirs  of  the  homestead  claimed  much  of  his  at- 
tention for  a  few  years,  and  as  good  men,  and  ministers 
even,  used  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  beverage,  in  that  day, 
his  father  had  an  establishment  for  their  manufacture.  On 
the  night  of  April  21st,  he  was  at  work  in  the  distillery, 
when,  by  accident,  he  was  so  badly  scalded  that  he  sur- 
vived but  twenty-six  hours.  His  employment  was  then 
regarded  as  an  honorable  one,  and  his  last  hours  of  ex- 
treme suffering  were  made  peaceful  by  the  presence  and 
support  of  his  Saviour,  whose  praise  he  often  pronounced. 
Knowlton  preached  on  the  funeral  occasion,  and  the  sad 
calamity  was  overruled  to  the  salvation  of  many. 

Two  of  Zion's  watchmen  were  discharged  from  further 
service  in  1815.  David  Knowlton  had  been  twenty 
years  in  the  ministry,  and  his  labors  had  been  mostly  con- 
fined to  Pittsfield.  The  infirmities  of  age  came  on  apace 
after  reaching  his  threescore  years  and  ten,  so  that  little 
active  labor  was  performed  after  that  period  in  life.  His 
sanguine  faith  in  the  duty  of  th«  church  to  provide  for  its 
own  poor,  had  led  him  to  take  an  indigent  member  into 
his  own  family,  and  for  more  than  a  year  did  that  man 
eat  at  his  table.  His  kind  spirit  and  worthy  example  en- 
deared him  to  all,  so  that  he  was  not  only  beloved  in  life 
but  regretted  in  death,  which  occurred  March  11th,  in  his 
75th  year. 

Dr.  Ja3HES  Jackson  was  not  only  a  practicing  physi- 
cian but  a  faithful  pastor  in  Madison  for  sixteen  years. 
He  was  not  known  extensively  abroad,  but  was  apprecia- 
ted at  home,  where  he  died  of  the  spotted  fever,  April 
19th. 

Joseph  Boody  of  Strafibrd  preached  extensively  and  ad- 
ministered the  ordinances  under  an  ordination  as  ruling 
elder.  His  tall  person,  dignified  appearance,  and  heavy 
voice,  were  prepossessing  ;  his  great  wit,  severe  sarcasm, 
and  fearless  independence,  rendered  him  a  successful  an- 


1818.]  REVIVALS.  299^ 

tagonist ;  and  Ms  associations  with  business  men  and  pol- 
iticians, often  cooled  the  ardor  of  his  devotions.  The 
drinking  habits  of  his  times,  and  his  business  associates, 
had  an  unfortunate  influence  upon  his  Christian  life ;  so 
that  his  improprieties,  resistful  spirit,  and  unguarded  ex- 
pressions, now  resulted  in  his  separation  from  the  Elders' 
Conference.  Some  attributed  his  faults  to  disordered  men- 
tal action,  and  thus  the  sympathy  of  his  former  friends 
was  divided. 

Several  churches  were  visited  with  revivals  in  1816,  but 
they  were  not  extensive.  In  fact  this  was  a  dreary  year 
in  temporal  things  as  well  as  spiritual.  Money  was 
scarce,  business  was  dull,  the  season  was  cold,  and  crops 
were  light — in  many  respects  an  entire  failure.  The  next 
year  was  also  one  of  hard  labor  and  many  discourage- 
ments. But  little  impression  was  apparently  made  on  the 
public  mind.  Christians  became  indifferent,  and  many 
churches  were  delinquent.  The  Quarterly  Meetings  stood 
firm,  committees  were  sent  to  the  churches  to  rectify  er- 
rors, and  strengthen  the  weak,  and  ministers  encouraged 
themselves  in  doing  what  they  could  ;  but  the  denomina- 
tion made  little  or  no  increase  for  two  or  three  years.  The 
hard  times  and  moral  apathy  that  followed  the  war  with 
England  rested  upon  the  people  with  such  a  pressure,  that 
all  efforts  to  interest  them  in  religion  were  unsuccessful. 
In  no  other  State  was  the  spiritual  dearth  more  severe 
than  in  New  Hampshire.  But  brighter  days  were  about 
to  dawn  upon  captive  Zion  in  the  Granite  State.  The 
Yearly  Meeting  at  Ncav  Durham  in  1818  was  one  of 
many  blessings.  William  Buzzell,  of  Middleton,  had  had 
the  pastoral  care  of  the  church  for  a  few  years,  and  meet- 
ings were  now  held  almost  every  day  and  evening.  At 
the  chvirch  meeting  July  4th,  fifteen  backsliders  confessed 
their  wanderings  and  renewed  their  covenant  obligations. 
The  work  extended  into  Alton  with  great  power,  and 
nearly  fifty  professed  faith  in  Christ.     In  Strafford,  Enoch 


300  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [1819. 

Place,  J.  L.  Peavey,  and  Clarissa  H.  Danforth^  ^^^ere 
holding  meetings  every  day,  and  the  glorious  work  contin- 
ued till  two  hundred  were  brought  to  Christ.  Scarcely  a 
person  on  the  Ridge  was  left  unconverted. 

After  a  spiritual  drouth  of  six  years,  a  cloud  of  mercy 
began  to  gather  over  Gilmanton,  and  the  rain  of  right- 
eousness descended  in  copious  effusion.  Different  parts 
of  the  town  were  refreshed,  and  Barnstead  also  shared  in 
the  work.  Jonathan  Woodman  was  there  a  few  weeks, 
and  in  the  two  towns  one  hundred  and  fifty  professed  to 
find  mercy.  Pittsfield,  Nottingham,  Meredith,  Ossipee 
and  Madison  were  greatly  revived,  and  in  Strafford  and 
Rockingham  counties,  where  Clarissa  H.  Danforth  spent 
three  or  four  months  after  the  Yearly  Meeting,  great  in- 
terests were  everywhere  awakened. 

Revs.  Timothy  Morse,  Samuel  B.  Dyer,  Joseph  Boody, 
Jr.,  and  Ruling  Elder  Joseph  Young,  were  this  year  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature,  and  all  boarded  at  the  same  place. 
The  following  extract  from  a  letter  by  Morse,  gives  us  a 
glimpse  at  these  Christian  legislators.  "I  arrived  at 
Concord  on  Tuesday,  and  pitched  my  tent  at  Mr.  Davis', 
where  there  were  fifteen  boarders,  four  of  whom  were 
preachers  of  the  gospel.  On  Friday,  at  noon,  we  called  a 
convention  in  our  boarding  house.  Eld.  Dyer  chairman, 
and  passed  a  vote  to  drink  no  ardent  spirits  till  the  session 
closes.  Immediately  after  this  I  found  the  Spirit  of  God 
had  admittance  among  us.  At  evening  Eld.  Young  sat 
and  reasoned  with  the  people  on  death,  judgment,  and 
eternity  ;  and  it  was  a  solemn  hour.  From  that  time  Je- 
sus has  been  allowed  the  first  seat  here,  thanks  be  to  God." 
If  we  had  more  men  of  this  devout  spirit  in  our  legisla- 
tive halls,  it  would  be  better  for  the  country.  But  wheth- 
er ministers  should  turn  their  attention  from  their  Divine 
calling  to  the  official  duties  of  civil  and  political  life,  is  a 
question  on  which  good  men  are  divided  in  opinion. 

"  An  account  of  Miss  Danforth  will  be  given  in  the  next  Chapter. 


1819.]  TOLERATION   ACT.  301 

The  year  1819  is  noted  for  the  passage  of  the  "  Tolera- 
tion Act."  For  thirty-nine  years  had  the  Freewill  Bap- 
tists been  untiring  in  their  efforts  for  the  removal  of  all 
legal  obligations  for  the  support  of  one  religions  sect  to 
the  neglect  of  all  others,  and  their  desires  were  now  real- 
ized. All  religious  denominations  were  tolerated  in  the 
peaceful  worship  of  God  by  this  act,  and  were  left  equally 
dependent  upon  the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people 
for  support.  Most  violent  was  the  opposition,  not  only  in 
the  Legislature,  but  throughout  the  State.  It  was  de- 
nounced as  "  the  repeal  of  the  Christian  religion."  It 
«vas  iterated  and  reiterated,  that  "  the  wicked  bear  rule," 
"  the  Bible  is  abolished,"  &c.  Never  were  the  people  in 
greater  agitation,  and  the  repeal  of  the  Toleration  Act 
was  made  the  political  test  at  the  next  election.  Religious 
views  and  interests  now  gave  zest  and  direction  to  politi- 
cal action,  and  the  people  triumphantly  sustained  the  law, 
which  was  soon  universally  approved. 

Rev.  Ebenezer  Chase  of  Andover  this  year  commenced 
the  publication  of  the  Religious  Informer,  a  small  semi- 
monthly pamphlet,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  denomi- 
nation. As  it  became  the  vehicle  of  religious  intelligence 
from  other  States,  and  was  a  kind  of  denominational  or- 
gan, the  particulars  of  its  establishment  will  be  given  in 
the  Fourth  Decade. 

The  year  1819  was  one  of  general  prosperity.  The 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit  was  such  in  the  New  Durham. 
Quarterly  Meeting  that  the  Clerk,  under  date  of  August 
28th,  says,  "  Within  one  year  past  nearly  every  church 
has  felt  the  heavenly  shower."  The  October  session  at 
New  Durham  was  one  of  great  power  ;  and  the  Elders' 
Conference  on  the  22d  was  unusually  solemn  and  interest- 
ing from  this  circumstance  :  It  was  held  at  "Widow  Ran- 
dall's, in  the  very  room  where  her  husband,  that  reverend 
man,  had  suffered  and  enjoyed  so  much,  and  where  he 
died  just  eleven  years  before.  The  associations  of  the 
place  and  the  day  were  sacred ;  and  many  were  the  pray- 
,    26 


302  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [1819. 

ers  that  the  mantle  of  that  illustrious  man  might  fall  upon 
his  successors,  and  that  his  spirit,  so  energetic,  sacrificing 
and  trustful,  might  be  cherished  by  all  who  follow  in  his 
profession.  Mrs.  Randall  had  received  frequent  donations 
from  the  friends  of  her  departed  companion,  but  her  little 
farm  had  become  somewhat  involved  for  her  support. 
Generous  friends  raised  $225  towards  redeeming  it,  and 
the  New  Hampshire  Charitable  Society  paid  the  balance, 
$75,  and  took  the  deed.  Till  her  death,  seven  years  after, 
she  lived  at  her  lonely  but  quiet  home,  undisturbed  by  the 
fear  of  removal. 

An  extensive  revival  had  been  in  progress  at  Newport,' 
under  the  labors  of  Solomon  Howe,  and  a  church  of  six- 
ty-five members  was  now  received  into  the  Weare  Quar- 
terly Meeting.  The  churches  in  Wendell,  Andover,  Mid- 
dleton,  Alton,  and  Nottingham,  were  greatly  revived. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1810,  Second  Andover, 
First  Upper  Gilmanton,  Meredith  Centre,  and  Wendell ; 
^11,  Lisbon  ;  '13,  Bethlehem  ;  '15,  Enfield,  and  Second  Os- 
sipee  ;  '16,  Candia  ;  '17,  Wilmot ;  '18,  Allenstown,  and 
Bartlett ;  '19,  Grafton,  Third  Strafford,  and  Ne^vport. 

Ordinations.  In  1810,  Moses  Bean,  Peter  Clark, 
Ebenezer  Chase,  David  Fisk,  Abel  Glidden,  and  Benja- 
min Tollman  ;  '11,  Thomas  Bell,  John  D.  Knowles,  and 
John  Page ;  '13,  Enoch  Place  ;  '14,  Robert  Dickey,  and 
John  Swett ;  '16,  Nathaniel  Berry,  and  Thomas  Perkins  ; 
'17,  David  Harriman,  Peter  Philbrick,  Dudley  Pettingill, 
and  Nehemiah  Sleeper  ;  '18,  Mayhew  Clark  ;  '19,  Asa 
Burnham,  Samuel  Haselton,  and  Solomon  Howe. 

Deaths.  In  1814,  Josiah  Shepherd ;  1815,  James 
Jackson  and  David  Knowlton, 


1810.]  JOHN  COLBY.  303 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
VERMONT, 

1810—1820.. 

John  Colby — His  Journey  to  Ohio — ^Builds  a  Meeting  House — Preaches 
to  the  Army — Yearly  Meeting  at  Tunbridge — Funds  for  Indigent  Min- 
isters— Clarissa  H.  Danforth — Daniel  Quinby — Charles  Bowles — He  is 
Threatened  by  a  Mob — Miss  Danforth  in  "Wheelock  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing— Prayer  for  Colby — Reuben  Allen — Huntington  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing— Churches  Organized — Ordinations — Deaths. 

John  Colby  was  born  in  Sandwich,  N.  H.,  in  1787. 
Several  years  after,  the  family  removed  to  Sutton,  Vt,, 
where  he  experienced  religion  in  1805.  After  great  strug- 
gles of  mind  he  commenced  preaching  in  1809,  and  such 
were  his  convictions  of  duty  to  travel  westward  that  he 
left  home  in  November,  impressed  with  the  duty  of  preach- 
ing Christ  in  Ohio.  He  went  down  the  Connecticut  river 
to  Springfield,  where  he  attended  several  meetings  with 
"Wm.  S.  Babcock  and  Nathaniel  Marshall.  They  advised 
him  to  be  ordained  before  taking  such  a  journey,  and 
when  he  objected  because  he  was  young,  absent  from 
home,  and  might  be  "  running  too  fast,"  they  insisted  up- 
on it,  believing  that  the  Holy  Ghost  made  it  their  duty  to 
separate  him  to  the  work  whereunto  God  had  called  him. 
These  two  men  Avere  now  unreasonably  sanguine  in  all  their 
opinions  ;  and,  lest  he  might  do  wrong,  Colby  reluctantly 
consented,  .and  was  ordained  November  .30th. 

In  a  few  days  he  left  for  the  "West,  on  horseback 
and  alone.  The  hardships  and  privations  of  that  journey 
were  equal  to  those   on  the  overland  route  to   Califpr- 


304  VERMONT.  [1811. 

nia,  forty  years  afterwards.  He  preached  almost  every 
day  as  lie  journeyed,  stopping  wherever  and  whenever 
opportunities  presented  themselves  for  doing  good.  In 
Pennsylvania  he  had  a  discovery  of  his  partial  unfitness 
for  heaven,  and,  making  a  full  consecration  of  himself 
to  Christ,  he  earnestly  besought  the  Lord  to  sancti- 
fy him  wholly.  The  victory  was  won,  his  faith  was 
strong,  and  his  joy  was  full.  He  went  to  Cincinnati, 
crossed  the  State  line  into  Indiana,  and  returned  by  way 
of  Lake  Erie  and  Niagara  Falls,  after  an  absence  of  eight 
months  ;  having  travelled  more  than  three  thousand  miles, 
without  seeing  a  person  he  had  previously  known,  or  once 
hearing  from  home.  With  a  grateful  heart  he  acknowl- 
edged God's  preserving  care  and  sustaining  grace  ;  and 
the  hand  of  Providence  in  this  journey  will  be  shown  in 
the  next  Decade.  It  gave  him  an  acquaintance  with  men 
and  things,  taught  him  self-reliance  and  Divine  assistance, 
and  added  greatly  to  his  stock  of  Christian  experience. 
Its  preparatory  influence  in  training  him  for  an  evangelist, 
and  the  spirit  of  consecration  he  thus  cherished,  gave  tone 
to  those  efforts  in  after  life  which  were  so  eminently  suc- 
cessful. 

Colby  spent  the  remainder  of  the  year  in  revivals  in 
Sutton,  Burke,  Lyndon,  and  Wheelock,  where  he  baptized 
fifty-one.  In  Canada  additions  were  made  to  the  church- 
es, especially  in  Hatley,  and  new  interests  were  establish- 
ed. In  central  Vermont,  under  the  labors  of  Buzzell  and 
King,  the  churches  in  Tunbridge,  Strafford,  Vershire, 
Corinth,  Northfield,  and  Woodstock,  were  greatly  blessed. 

The  year  1811  was  one  of  usual  labor,  but  little  results. 
It  was  a  steady  beat  against  the  wind  of  opposing  influ- 
ences, but  the  cause  generally  held  its  own.  Colby  made 
great  exertions  the  next  year  to  induce  the  people  of  Sut- 
ton to  build  a  house  of  worship  ;  but  the  country  was 
about  to  engage  in  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  the  pro- 
spective hard  times  discouraged  them.  He  had  a  little 
property,  which  he  now  resolved  to  put  into   a  house  and 


1815.]      COLBY  PREACHES  TO  THE  ARMY.         305 

dedicate  it  to  the  Lord.  His  own  means  were  not  suffi- 
cient to  complete  it,  but  he  believed  the  Lord  would  pro- 
vide the  balance.  It  was  the  first  of  May  that  his  purpose 
was  fixed,  and  having  purchased  a  lot  and  contracted  for 
the  frame  and  outside  finish,  he  appointed  a  meeting  in  the 
house  on  the  last  Sabbath  in  June,  "  while,  as  yet,  every 
stick  of  the  frame  was  growing  in  the  forest."  He  then 
left  for  Rhode  Island,  but  returned  and  preached  in  the 
shell  of  the  house  June  28th.  In  five  days  he  was  off 
again  for  Montville,  Me.  He  returned  the  next  year, 
1813,  and  labored  in  a  revival  in  Wheelock,  and  baptized 
thirty.  ** 

In  September  he  went  to  Burlington  in  company  with 
his  father,  where  a  division  of  the  American  army  was 
encamped.  It  was  at  the  time  of  Perry's  victory  on  lake 
Erie,  and  the  Sabbath  after  that  memorable  event,  he  was 
permitted  to  build  a  small  stand  on  the  parade  ground, 
from  which  he  began  to  sing.  Officers  and  soldiers  gath- 
ered around  him,  and  he  preached  to  an  attentive  and  sol- 
emn audience,  the  first  sermon  they  had  heard  for  the  sea- 
son. He  then  visited  the  hospital,  and,  before  leaving, 
took  an  eligible  position,  where  he  sung,  prayed,  and  gave 
a  short  religious  address  to  the  sick,  and  their  attendants. 
The  churches  in  Montpelier,  Hardwick,  Sheffield,  and 
Sutton,  enjoyed  considerable  prosperity  during  the  year. 

Some  of  the  churches  in  the  Strafford  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing were  revived  in  1814,  and  thirty-two  united  with  the 
Tunbridge  church.  The  Yearly  Meeting  was  held  there 
for  several  successive  years  ;  and  in  1815  it  convened  Feb- 
ruary 4th,  during  a  time  of  general  refreshing  in  that 
Quarterly  Meeting.  The  reports  were  encouraging,  es- 
pecially the  letter  from  Rev.  Eli  Stedman  of  Ohio,  and 
the  religious  intelligence  from  New  Brunswick,  as  given 
by  Ziba  Pope.  The  Sabbath  meeting  was  very  crowded, 
solemn  and  interesting.  Efforts  were  made  on  Monday  to 
raise  funds  for  the  poor,  especially  for  indigent  ministers, 
their  widows  and  orphan  children.  The  object  was  the 
26* 


306  VERMONT.  [1815. 

same  as  that  contemplated  in  New  Hampshire,  by  the  in- 
corporation of  the  Charitable  Society,  but  the  plan  of  op- 
erations was  different.  The  Yearly  Meeting  was  to  con- 
trol the  funds,  and  Rev.  Nathaniel  King  was  appointed  to 
solicit  donations,  and  Joshua  Folsom  was  appointed  Stew- 
ard. 

It  would  be  inexcusable  to  pass  in  silence  one  who  this 
year  made  her  debut  as  a  preacher.  Her  position  will  be 
neither  assailed  nor  defended,  but  the  facts  impartially 
stated.  Sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  this  work  will  it  be 
to  ignore  that  sentimental  modesty  which  would  have  fe- 
males participate  in  social  worship  only  in  meetings  by 
themselves,  and  to  acknowledge  the  hand  of  God  in  the 
blessings  of  salvation,  whether  they  come  through  man's 
or  woman's  instrumentality. 

Clarissa  H.  Danforth  was  born  in  Weathersfield  in 
1792,  or  about  that  time.  When  Colby  was  there  in  1809, 
on  his  way  to  Ohio,  she  attended  his  meetings,  a  lofty, 
vain  young  lady.  His  clear  presentation  of  her  lost  con- 
dition as  a  sinner,  and  the  love  of  Christ  as  her  Saviour, 
led  her  to  the  foot  of  the  cross,  where  she  found  mercy. 
She  was  active  as  a  Christian,  and  her  presence  added 
greatly  to  the  interest  of  the  social  meetings  ;  so  that 
they  were  sometimes  appointed  with  the  understanding 
that  she  would  improve  much  of  the  time.  Thus  was  she 
led  along  into  prominence,  having  the  confidence  of  all, 
till  she  felt  herself  called  of  God  to  go  out  and  invite  sin- 
ners to  Christ ;  and  she  became  a  successful  laborer  in  the 
gospel.  She  was  a  young  lady  of  respectable  parentage, 
good  education,  extraordinary  talents,  and  undoubted  pie- 
ty. She  was  tall  in  person,  dignified  in  appearance,  easy 
in  manners,  and  had  all  the  elements  of  a  noble  woman. 
As  a  speaker,  her  language  was  ready  and  flowing,  her 
gestures  were  few  and  appropriate,  and  her  articulation  so 
remarkably  clear  and  full,  that  she  was  distinctly  heard  in 
all  parts  of  the  largest  house.  Her  meetings  were  every- 
where fully  attended,  and  she  would  hold  hundreds  with 


1816.]  DANIEL    QUINBT.  307 

fixed  attention  for  an  hour,  by  the  simplicity  of  her  man- 
ner, the  kindness  of  her  spirit,  the  claims  of  her  subject, 
and  the  novelty  of  her  position.  Her  motive  in  preaching 
was  generally  regarded  as  good,  her  ability  in  sustaining 
herself  for  years  was  ample,  and  revivals  attended  her  la- 
bors wherever  she  went,  till  marriage  closed  her  public 
career. 

And  in  view  of  all  these  complimentary  remarks,  let  it 
be  remembered  that  she  was  only  a  woman,  a  frail,  im- 
perfect person.  She  preached  not  only  in  her  native  State, 
but  we  soon  learn  of  her  in  western  Massachusetts  and 
New  Hampshire,  while  Rhode  Island  soon  became  the 
field  of  her  most  extensive  labors. 

Daniel  Quimby  of  Sandwich,  N.  H.,  (a  half  brother  of 
Joseph)  had  been  preaching  for  some  years,  and  removed 
to  Lyndon  in  1816,  where  he  was  a  father  in  Israel  for 
more  than  thirty  years.  He  was  the  man,  and  this  was 
the  year,  that  settled  Jonathan  Woodman  in  his  purpose  to 
spend  and  be  spent  in  the  Christian  ministry.  In  a  bio- 
graphical sketch  of  that  good  man.  Woodman  says,  "  I 
was  laboring  under  great  trials  of  mind  in  regard  to  my 
impi-essions  of  duty.  I  felt  that  I  ought  to  preach,  and 
thought  that  I  could  not.  In  this  distress  of  mind  I  was 
near  abandoning  my  hope,  when,  by  a  providence  of  God, 
as  it  seemed  to  me,  brother  Quimby  came  to  my  relief. 
He  seemed  to  take  me  in  his  arms  as  an  affectionate  fath- 
er would  a  bewildered  child,  and  bear  me  homewards. 
His  prayers,  his  exhortations,  his  instruction,  and  his  coun- 
sel, have  been  of  incalculable  benefit  to  me."  The  church- 
es in  northern  Vermont  were  in  a  low,  undisciplined  state, 
and  not  a  revival  was  in  progress  ;  but  before  the  year 
closed,  Shefiield,  Lyndon,  Danville,  Cabot,  and  Montpelier 
were  visited  in  mercy  and  greatly  revived.  The  Stratford 
Quarterly  Meeting  was  enjoying  general  prosperity,  and 
West  Brookfield  was  particularly  favored. 

Charles  Bowles  was  a  colored  man,  born  in  Boston  in 


308  VERMONT.  "[1817. 

1761.  His  father  was  an  African,  and  his  mother  a  mu- 
latto, the  daughter  of  Col.  Morgan,  a  celebrated  officer  in 
the  American  army.  Bowles  was  himself  in  the  army 
during  the  Revolution,  and  then  settled  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, where  he  became  a  Christian,  and  finally  united 
with  the  FreewiU  Baptists.  The  abiding  conviction  that 
God  was  calling  him  into  the  ministry  weighed  heavily 
upon  his  mind,  and  he  knew  not  how  to  answer  his  con- 
victions of  duty.  His  natural  ability  could  not  be  urged 
as  an  objection,  but  his  education,  or  rather  the  want  of 
an  education,  was  a  strong  one.  Like  Jonah  he  refused 
to  obey,  and  went  to  sea.  After  three  years  of  sea-faring 
life  he  consented  that  an  appointment  for  a  meeting  should 
be  made  for  him,  which  was  attended,  and  several  were 
converted.  His  purpose  was  now  fixed,  and  he  gave  him- 
self to  the  work  of  enlisting  recruits  for  the  "  Old  Ship  of 
Zion," 

In  July,  1816,  he  commenced  his  labors  in  Huntington, 
where  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  converted  before  the 
work  ceased.  A  church  of  ninety  members  was  organ- 
ized, a  small  farm  was  purchased,  and  for  many  years  that 
was  his  earthly  home.  He  was  ordained  at  this  time,  and 
became  a  noted  revivalist ;  conquering  the  prejudices  of  the 
people  against  his  color,  and  making  friends  wherever  he  was 
known.  The  Yearly  Meeting  at  Tunbridge  February  1, 
1817,  was  one  of  good  interest.  Twelve  hundred  people 
attended  on  the  Sabbath,  and  sermons  were  preached  by 
Ebenezer  Scales  of  Maine,  and  Aaron  Buzzell.  The  even- 
ing meeting  was  one  of  great  power,  and  continued  tiU  af- 
ter midnight.  Fourteen  ministers  sat  in  Elders'  Conference 
the  next  day,  and  it  was  "  a  profitable  interview."  Both  be- 
fore and  after  the  Yearly  Meeting  Miss  Danforth  held  sev- 
eral meetings  in  the  vicinity,  at  one  of  which  Charles 
Bowles  preached  in  the  morning  and  she  in  the  afternoon. 
Neither  color  nor  sex  was  regarded  with  prejudice  by  the 
people  of  Corinth,  for  the  lost  condition  of  the  wicked, 


1817.]  BOWLHS    THREATENED.  309 

and  the  fulness  of  the  atonement,  engaged  their  whole  at- 
tention.i 

But  prejudice  sometimes  subjected  Bowles  to  privations 
and  trials,  such  as  white  men  would  not  have  met.      In 
Hinesburg  the  reformation  was  making  daily  inroads  into 
Satan's  ranks,  till  they  became  desperate,   and  threatened 
him  with  a  ride  on  a  wooden  horse,  and  an  informal  dis- 
mounting into  a  pool  near  by,  if  he  did  not  leave  town. 
"When  apprized  of  their  intentions,  Bowles  said,   "  God 
will  take  care  of  me,  and  I  shall  do  my  duty  though  the 
enemy  trample  me  under  their  feet."     Another  meeting  is 
appointed  and  both  parties  are  preparing  themselves  for 
the  conflict.     The  wicked  are  quaffing  whiskey,  uttering 
oaths,  and  disguising  themselves  for  their  hellish  work. 
On  his  knees  in  a  distant  grove  is  the  servant  of  God, 
pleading  that  his  Master  would  be  with  him  and  clothe 
him  with  the  gospel  armor.     And  now  the  hour  of  wor- 
ship has  arrived.     The  rail  is  at  the  door,  the  disguised 
mob  are  in  their  seats,  and  the  unoffending  object  of  their 
hate  is  in  the  pulpit.     On  his  sable  brow  God  has  lit  up  a 
calm  and  dignified  serenity,  expressive  of  the  holy  trust 
that  pervades  his  soul.     The  opening  exercises  being  fin- 
ished, the  text  is  announced  in  a  full  but  subdued  tone  of 
voice — "Ye  serpents,  ye  generation  of  vipers,  how  can  ye 
escape  the  damnation  of  hell  ?  "      The  question  was   an- 
swered, and  the  subject  discussed  with  unswerving  fideli- 
ty, and  yet,  with  so  much  of  the  softening,  subduing  pow- 
er of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  every  man  listened  with  fixed 
attention.     Rising  to  pronounce  the  benediction,  as  was 
supposed,  he  stated  the  avowed  intentions  of  some  pres- 
ent, and  said,  "  I  shall  make  no  resistance  at  all;    I  am 
all  ready,  but,  before  starting,  I  have  one  request  to  make 
— I  wish  you  to  put  one  of  your  most  resolute  men  for- 
ward, because  I  have  another  subject  from  God  to  preach 
on  the  way  ;  and  we  will  have  music  as  we  go  along,  glory 
be  to  God  !      Yes^  we  will  have  music,  glory  he  to   God  !" 

'  Life  of  Charles  Bowles,  p.  31. 


310  VERMONT.  [1817. 

This  was  said  in  unfaltering  accents,  and  with  such  trust 
in  God,  that  it  went  like  an  electric  shock  through  the  au- 
dience. Never  did  a  mob  spirit  receive  such  a  paralysis, 
and  their  next  cry  was,  "  what  shall  we  do  to  be  saved  ?  " 
Many  of  those  very  men  became  humble  Christians,  and 
a  few  Sabbaths  after  this,  a  great  multitude  at  the  water 
side  witnessed  their  baptism  by  the  formerly  hated,  but 
now  beloved,  servant  of  Jesus.  And  while  their  shouts  of 
joy  reverberated  from  the  other  shore  and  distant  hills,  a 
sweeter  echo  from  angel  harps  filled  the  heavenly  courts 
with  sounding  praise. 

Miss  Danforth  spent  several  months  in  the  Hardwick 
[now  Wlieelock]  Quartei'ly  Meeting,  where  almost  every 
church  was  visited  in  mercy,  and  large  accessions  were 
made.  Her  first  meeting  was  in  Danville,  the  last  of 
June,  and  the  High  Sherifi"  was  one  of  the  first  converted. 
Crowds  went  to  hear  the  woman  preach,  and  many  re- 
turned with  hearts  fixed  to  seek  the  Lord.  During  the 
first  p&rt  of  this  revival  interest,  Colby  lay  sick  at  his 
father's  house,  and  could  only  rejoice  in  the  prosperity  of 
Zion  and  pray  for  her  continued  success.  All  means  were 
used  for  his  recovery,  but  aflfectionate  care  and  medical 
skill  were  alike  unavailing.  Sabbath  evening,  June  8th, 
his  father  returned  from  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Wheel- 
ock,  and  informed  him  of  the  ministers  in  attendance  and 
the  wonderful  season  there  enjoyed.  The  night  was  spent 
in  meditation  by  the  wakeful  son,  and  in  the  morning  his 
father  was  informed  of  his  desire.  It  was  to  apply  to  the 
great  Physician  in  a  more  earnest  manner  than  had  yet 
been  done  ;  and  to  do  it  according  to  the  direction  of 
James  the  apostle  :  "Is  any  sick  among  you  ?  Let  him 
call  for  the  elders  of  the  church,"  &c.  Dea.  Colby  had 
great  faith  in  the  effort,  and  just  as  he  was  about  to  go 
and  invite  them,  the  very  four  men  he  had  selected  stood 
at  the  door.  They  were  Daniel  and  Joshua  Quimby,  and 
Nathaniel  and  Charles  Bowles.  Prayer  was  offered,  faith 
was  exercised,  and  before  their  supplications  ceased  he 


1819.]  REUBEN  ALLEN.  311 

was  unusually  calm,  happy,  and  free  from  pain.  He  was 
convalescent  from  that  hour,  and,  after  a  few  weeks,  was 
able  to  attend  meeting  and  baptized  several.  As  winter 
approached,  he  left  for  the  South,  to  return  no  more. 

Early  in  the  year  1818,  Eeuben  AUen  from  New  Hamp- 
shire commenced  preaching  in  Wheelock,  and  additions 
were  made  to  the  church  almost  every  month  during  the 
year.  In  Waterford  and  St.  Johnsbury  churches,  many 
were  received,  and  the  Yearly  Meeting  at  Sutton  was  one 
of  great  interest.  The  sei'mon  by  King  was  a  masterly 
effort  of  pulpit  oratory  ;  not  so  much  on  account  of  its 
human  eloquence  as  its  Divine  power. 

Between  the  Green  mountains  and  lake  Champlain, 
Charles  Bowles,  assisted  by  others,  was  successfully  pros- 
ecuting his  itinerant  labors.  Revs.  Nathaniel  King,  George 
Hackett,  Ziba  "VVoodworth,  and  others  from  the  Strafford 
Quarterly  Meeting,  came  over  to  Huntington  and  organ- 
ized the  Huntington  Quarterly  Meeting  September  12th. 
It  consisted  of  four  churches,  Huntington,  Duxbury,  Hines- 
burg,  and  Shelbourne,  and  was  gathered  mainly  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Charles  Bowles.  At  the  August 
session  almost  every  church  in  the  Strafford  Quarterly 
Meeting  reported  a  revival  interest.  Willard  Bartlett  now 
removed  to  Melbourne,  Canada  East,  where  a  church  was 
organized  and  he  continued  to  labor  for  nearly  forty  years. 
In  1819  the  Yearly  Meeting  convened  at  Tunbridge 
O  ctober  2d,  and  the  reports  were  unusually  encouraging. 
Timothy  Morse  from  New  Hampshire  was  present,  and 
not  only  preached  a  very  stirring  discourse,  but  labored 
for  a  month  in  the  vicinity,  where  sinners  were  almost 
daily  brought  to  rejoice  in  Christ.  Allen  preached  alter- 
nately at  "Wheelock  and  Cabot,  baptized  fifty,  and  organ- 
ized a  couple  of  churches.  In  the  Huntington  Quarterly 
Meeting,  Bowles  was  abundant  in  labors  ;  churches  were 
organized  in  Stowe  and  Waterbury,  and  government  now 
granted  him  an  annual  pension,  in  view  of  his  services  in 
the  Revolutionary  war. 


312  '  VERMONT.  [1819. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1810,  East  Eandolph;  '12, 
Montpelier  ;  '15,  Newark;  '16,  Huntington,  and  West 
Brookfield ;  '17,  Duxbiiry,  Hinesburg,  and  Shelburne ; 
'18,  St.  Johnsbury  ;  and  Melbourne  in  Canada  ;  '19,  Stowe, 
and  Waterbury  ;  and  Compton  in  Canada. 

Ordinations.  In  1810,  Rufus  Cheney;  '11,  Moses 
Norris  ;  '15,  Willard  Bartlett,  Nathaniel  Bowles,  Samuel 
Gilman,  and  Moses  Wallis  ;  '16,  Charles  Bowles,  George 
Hackett,  Thomas  Moxley,  and  Daniel  Quimby  ;  '18,  Reu- 
ben Allen,  Abel  Bugbee,  John  Orcutt,  and  Jonathan 
Woodman  ;  '19,  Jonathan  Nelson.  The  year  in  which 
Frederick  Clark,  .J.  Capron,  B.  Maynard,  and  Samuel 
Webster,  were  ordained,  is  unknown. 

Deaths.  In  1811,  Nathaniel  Marshall;  1817,  John 
Colby,  the  account  of  Avhich  may  be  found  in  the  next 
chapter. 


1812.]  Colby's  first  visit.  313 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
EHODE  ISLAND. 

1812—1820. 

Colby's  First  Visit — Church  in  Burrillville — Colby's  Repeated  Visits — 
A  Quarterly  Meeting — Freewill  Baptists  Favorably  Received — Other 
Ministers  —  Great  Gale — Governor  Jones — The  Struggling  Cause — 
Death  of  Colby — ^White  Settles  in  Rhode  Island — Clarissa  H.  Dan- 
forth — Great  Revival. 

After  Jolin  Colby  had  contracted  for  the  building  of  his 
meeting  house  in  Sutton,  Vt.,  in  1812,  he  made  his  first 
visit  to  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island.  On  the  Sab- 
bath, May  24th,  he  preached  two  sermons  "  at  a  large 
hall"  in  Boston,  and  then  went  to  Providence,  R.  I.,  and 
attended  a  feAv  meetings  with  "  Elder  Farnum,"  who  had 
been  successfully  laboring  there  for  a  few  naonths.  In 
September  he  returned  to  Rhode  Island,  and  then  went  to 
Burrillville,  eighteen  miles  northwest  from  Providence. 
He  continued  his  labors  there  and  in  adjoining  towns  till 
December  15th,  when  a  church  of  nine  members  was  or- 
ganized, the  first  Freewill  Baptist  church  in  the  State,  and 
for  eight  years  the  only  one.  It  soon  became  large  and 
prosperous,  with  members  residing  in  different  towns. 
Colby  was  now  very  feeble  in  health,  and  at  one  time  made 
all  his  arrangements  for  death  ;  but  continued  his  labors 
under  great  pain  of  body  and  pecuniary  embarrassments. 
Returning  from  Hartford,  Ct.,  whither  he  had  been  to  vis- 
it friends  and  preach  Christ,  his  money  was  entirely  gone, 
and  he  could  pass  the  toll  gates  only  by  leaving  his  hymn 
book  and  pocket  handkerchief.  But  when  his  circumstan- 
27 


314  RHODE   ISLAND.  [1814. 

ces  were  understood,  his  wants  were  supplied,  for  he  had 
many  warm  friends.  He  preached  regularly  in  Burrill- 
ville,  and  repeatedly  in  Gloucester  and  Smithfield,  and  in 
the  adjoining  towns  of  Uxbridge  and  Douglass  in  Massa- 
chusetts. In  March  he  was  no  longer  able  to  preach,  and 
returned  to  his  father's  in  Vermont,  but  after  two  months' 
absence,  he  was  back  again  to  his  chosen  field  of  labor, 
greatly  improved  in  health.  In  June,  when  he  left  the 
church  the  second  time,  it  numbered  seventy-five,  all  unit- 
ed in  Christian  love.  It  struggled  on  as  best  it  could  till 
November,  when  one  of  the  members  was  sent  to  Ver- 
mont with  a  carriage  to  bring  Colby  back,  if  it  was  the 
Lord's  will  that  he  should  come.  The  messenger  arrived 
at  Sutton  late  in  the  evening,  and  found  that  he  had  made 
all  necessary  preparations  for  going  to  Rhode  Island  the 
next  morning ;  and  this  purpose  was  formed  with  no 
knowledge  of  the  circumstances,  but  from  impressions  of 
duty,  attributed  to  the  influences  of  the  Spirit.  He  found 
the  church  in  good  order  and  well  engaged.  Meetings 
were  now  held  almost  every  day  and  evening  till  January, 
and  many  funerals  were  attended,  for  it  was  indeed  a 
"  dying  time  ;"  the  spotted  fever  carrying  its  victims  by 
scores  and  hundreds  to  their  graves. 

September  24,  he  held  what  was  called  a  Quarterly 
Meeting  at  Burrillville,  though  there  was  but  one  church 
in  the  State.  George  Lamb  and  a  few  other  ministers 
were  present,  and  it  proved  to  be  a  refreshing  season. 
"  Doors  were  opened  for  preaching  on  every  hand,"  says 
Colby,  "  and  He  who  opened  the  doors  enabled  me  to 
preach  day  and  night.  Crowds  of  people  flocked  to  hear 
the  word,  and  the  work  of  the  Lord  spread,  particularly 
in  the  towns  of  Burrillville,  Gloucester,  and  Smithfield." 

Freewill  Baptist  doctrines  and  usages  were  indigenous 
to  Rhode  Island  soil,  and  Colby  was  a  faithful  cultivator. 
The  tolerant  principles  of  Roger  "Williams  still  lived,  and 
little  was  the  opposition  he  there  encountered.  He  was 
kindly  received  by  the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  freely  min- 


1816.]  THE  GREAT  GALE.  315 

gled  Avith  all  classes.  He  says,  "  The  people  of  Rhode 
Island  appear  to  be  ready  io  distribute,  willing  io  coTCLVcmm.- 
cate  to  the  necessities  of  those  who  labor  in  word  and  deed 
among  them,  and  appear  to  do  it  with  the  utmost  delight." 
In  May,  George  Lamb  and  Joseph  White,  from  Maine, 
came  to  this  field  of  labor,  and  spent  several  months, 
while  Colby  was  in  Vermont  sick,  and  frequently  bleeding 
a.t  the  lungs.  He  returned  to  Rhode  Island  in  September, 
accompanied  by  John  Buzzell.  On  their  way  from  Prov- 
idence they  were  detained  at  Smithfield  by  the  "  Great 
Gale,"  September  23d,  when,  for  two  hours,  the  rain  fell 
in  torrents,  and  the  wind  blew  with  hurricane  fury.  One 
of  the  barns  where  they  stopped  was  razed  to  the  ground, 
and  in  it  was  Colby's  chaise,  crushed  beyond  the  possibili- 
ty of  repair,  so  tliat  he  was  again  compelled  to  take  the 
saddle,-  much  to  his  inconvenience,  as  it  increased  the  pain 
in  his  side.  The  tempest  subsided  at  eleven,  and  that  af- 
ternoon they  proceeded  to  BurrillviUe,  where  they  met 
Lamb,  "White,  and  Moses  Cheney,  who  were  there  for  a 
session  of  their  Quarterly  Meeting.  No  other  persons  at- 
tended, as  the  great  destruction  of  property  and  buildings 
engaged  the  attention  of  all.  A  few  lives  were  lost,  and 
it  was  a  solemn  time  with  those  five  ministers,  as  they  re- 
counted God's  mercy  to  them,  and  offered  devout  thanks- 
giving for  protecting  care.  The  next  day  was  the  Sab- 
bath, and  Buzzell  preached  to  a  large  congregation  from 
Is.  32  :  2,  "  And  a  man  shall  be  as  an  hiding  place  from 
the  wind,  and  a  covert  from  the  tempest."  Cheney  preach- 
ed in  the  afternoon,  and  several  other  meetings  were  held 
there  and  in  the  vicinity,  leaving  a  most  salutary  impres- 
sion upon  the  minds  of  the  people. 

Colby  spent  about  six  weeks  here  in  the  Avinter,  and 
"White  returned  in  March  and  remained  till  June.  In  May, 
Colby  Avas  here  again,  laboring  as  if  all  things  depended 
upon  his  diligence  in  business.  By  invitation,  Colby  and 
"White  spent  an  evening,  the  first  of  June,  with  GoA^ernor 
Jones,  and  found  him  to  be  a  social  man  and  &.n  experi- 


316  RHODE   ISLAND.  [1817. 

«nced  Cliristian.  The  interview  was  closed  by  prayer,  in 
which  all  united,  and  the  Grovernor  was  very  earnest  in 
his  supplications  for  the  health  of  Colby.  White  was  in 
Rhode  Island  two  months  in  the  latter  part  of  the  season, 
and  Colby  spent  a  month  here  in  the  winter,  on  his  con- 
templated journey  South,  but  attended  only  four  meetings. 
He  went  to  New  York,  but  was  becoming  more  feeble 
every  day,  and  returned.  It  was  thus  that  the  cause 
struggled  on  tlirough  seven  or  eight  years,  with  a  minister 
or  two  for  a  few  months,  and  then  destitute  as  long,  or 
longer.  Colby  loved  to  be  here,  and  his  friends  desired  to 
have  him,  even  when  past  labor,  and  wasting  away  with 
consumption.  Rhode  Island  was  his  adopted  state,  and 
the  Freewill  Baptist  interest  there  was  eminently  his. 

In  April,  he  went  to  his  father's  in  Vermont,  where  he 
remained  till  September,  when  his  physicians  assured  him 
that  his  only  hope  of  living  through  the  winter  was  in  go- 
ing South.  He  spent  a  few  days  in  Rhode  Island,  and 
proceeded  to  Philadelphia,  after  which  no  intelligence  was 
received  from  him  tiU  the  following  notice  appeared  in  a 
Boston  paper,  copied  from  one  in  Norfolk,  Ya. 

"  Obituary. 

"  Departed  this  life  yesterday  morning,  (November 
28th,)  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Wm.  Fauquier,  in  this  bor- 
ough, after  a  painful  and  lingering  sickness,  which  he  bore 
with  Christian  fortitude  and  resignation,  the  Rev.  John 
Colby,  a  Baptist  minister  from  the  State  of  Vermont.  A 
few  weeks  since  Mr.  Colby  reached  this  place  from  the 
North,  being  on  his  way  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  where  he 
hoped  to  recover  the  health  and  strength  which  he  had 
spent  in  the  service  of  his  Lord  and  Master.  But  it  was 
decreed  otherwise  ;  his  sufferings  are  at  an  end,  for  he  has 
fallen  asleep  in  the  arms  of  Jesus,  and  his  immortal  spirit 
has  winged  its  flight  to  that  bright  world  of  bliss,  where 
the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  pilgrim  is 
forever  at  rest.     For  the  satisfaction  of  his  relatives  and 


1818.]  DEATH  OF  COLBY.  317 

friends  at  a  distance,  and  as  an  act  of  justice  to  the  "wor- 
thy family  in  which  Mr.  Colby  breathed  his  last,  we  deem 
it  proper  to  state  that  he  received  every  respect  and  atten- 
tion which  his  office  and  his  sufferings  required." 

The  death  of  Colby, 

"  Away  from  his  home  and  the  friends  of  his  youth," 

was  a  sad  event ;  but  letters  from.  Dea.  Fauquier,  and  the 
visit  of  Rev.  David  Millard,  of  New  York,  to  Norfolk  in 
1824,  greatly  relieved  the  painful  tmcertainty  of  the  cir- 
cumstances^  attending  his  death.  He  preached  two  Sab- 
baths in  the  Baptist  church,  and  died  in  two  and  a  half 
weeks  after  his  last  sermon.  "  A  heavenly  serenity  seem- 
ed to  buoy  up  his  spirits  in  his  last  moments,  and  even  to 
create  a  smile  on  his  pale  countenance  when  sinking  in 
death.  The  name  of  Jesus  hung  upon  his  lips  while  able 
to  speak  of  his  goodness,  and  he  ceased  not  to  recommend 
him  to  all  who  came  around  his  bed,  till  his  voice  became 
mute  in  death."  His  remains  rest  in  the  churchyard  close 
by  the  house  where  his  last  sermon  was  preached  ;  and 
from  that  southern  clime,  long  after  the  last  chains  of  sla- 
very shall  have  been  broken,  will  his  ransomed  dust  come 
forth  in  resurrection  power  and  glory. 

Colby's  life  was  short- — a  few  days  less  than  thirty  years 
— and  yet  it  was  not  short,  since 

"  That  life  is  long  which  answers  life's  great  end." 

As  a  minister,  he  was  orthodox  in  faith,  untiring  in  labor, 
and  successful  in  effort.  As  a  revivalist,  he  had  few  su- 
periors. During  the  six  years  of  his  active  ministry  he 
baptized  650  persons,  and  the  number  that  became  Chris- 
tians through  his  instrumentality  must  have  been  very 
great.  His  spirit  was  that  of  the  beloved  disciple,  meek, 
gentle,  and  confiding.  He  loved,  and  was  beloved.  Sev- 
eral editions  of  his  life  have  been  published,  and  "  he  be- 
ing dead  yet  speaketh." 

»  See  Life  of  Colby,  Vol.  II,,  pp.  49—60. 

27* 


318  RHODE   ISLAND.  [1819. 

White  came  to  Rhode  Island  soon  after  Colby's  death, 
and  spent  much  of  his  time  here  for  several  years  ;  and  in 
October,  1818,  Clarissa  H.  Danforth  preached  her  first 
sermon  in  Burrillville.  Most  of  her  time  for  a  few  years, 
was  spent  in  the  State,  and  her  efforts  resulted  in  many  re- 
vivals, and  the  organization  of  several  churches.  Her  la- 
bors were  not  confined  to  the  Freewill  Baptists,  but  "  al- 
most all  the  houses  of  worship  in  that  region  were  opened 
for  her,  and  ministers  and  people  in  multitudes  flocked  to 
hear,  and  listened  with  deep  emotion."  The  great  revival 
commenced  in  Smithfield,  July,  1819,  and  continued  with 
great  power  for  sixteen  months,  and  extended  into  all  parts 
of  the  State,  and  into  all  societies. 


1810.]  EEV.    NATHANIEL   BEOWN.  319 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

NEW  YORK. 

1809—1820. 

Rev.  Nathaniel  Brown — Church  at  Bethany — Colby's  Tour — Jeremiah 
Folsom — Bethany  Quarterly  Meeting — Missionary  Tour — Cheney  at 
Attica — Herman  Jenkins — Church  in  Holland — Hinkley  at  Parma — 
Lewis  at  "Walworth — Dean  at  Benton — Boston  Church — Erie  Quarter- 
ly Meeting — ^Benton  Quarterly  Meeting — ^Davld  Marks — Churches  Or- 
ganized— Ordinations. 

Rev.  Nathaniel  Brown,  of  Strafford,  Vt.,  was  re- 
quested by  a  few  of  his  townsmen  to  accompany  them  in 
their  removal  to  western  New  York.  They  settled  in 
Bethany,  Genesee  county,  about  midway  between  Roches- 
ter and  Buffalo.  He  visited  them  in  1809,  was  pleased 
with  the  country,  saw  a  few  converted,  and  felt  it  his  duty 
to  plant  the  gospel  standard  in  those  new  settlements,  all 
destitute  of  religious  privileges.  A  church  of  seven  mem- 
bers was  organized  July  25th,  some  of  whom  had  been 
members  with  him  in  Vermont.  This  little  church  in 
Bethany  was  the  first  Freewill  Baptist  church  in  New 
York,  and  a  revival  immediately  followed  its  organization, 
in  which  the  late  Rev.  Herman  Jenkins  was  converted. 
Having  secured  a  lot  of  land,  he  retui'ned  to  Vermont, 
and  the  next  spring  removed  with  his  family  to  this  cho- 
sen field  of  labor.  Many  were  the  trials  and  privations 
he  here  experienced  in  common  with  others,  and  peculiar- 
ly trying  must  it  have  been,  in  the  burial  of  his  own  son, 
when  no  minister  could  be  obtained,  and  the  funeral  ser- 
vices, if  observed  at  all,  must  be  conducted  by  himself. 
Just  after  Brown  had  unfui'led  the  banner  of  the  cross 


320  NEW   YORK.  [1813. 

in  western  New  York,  John  Colby  from  Vermont  passed 
through  the  south-eastern  part  of  the  state,  late  in  1809. 
His  heart  was  pained  by  the  wickedness  he  saw  at  Albany, 
but  he  was  greatly  comforted  at  Cobleskill,  where  he  pass- 
ed a  night  with  Rev.  Tliomas  Tallman,  a  Free  Commun- 
ion Baptist.  From  Otsego,  he  went  south  into  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  preached  a  few  times,  especially  at  Owego  and 
in  that  vicinity.  He  returned  by  the  way  of  Niagara 
Falls  in  May,  1810,  where  he  tarried  a  few  days,  and  was 
affectionately  urged  to  settle  there,  as  it  was  said  that  his 
first  sermon  was  the  fourth  one  ever  preached  in  the  place. 
He  passed  through  Batavia,  a  town  adjoining  Bethany, 
where  BroAvn  was  about  locating  himself.  Had  those  men 
known  that  they  were  so  near  to  each  other,  what  a  happy 
meeting  they  would  have  enjoyed.  Passing  through  Can- 
andaigua,  Utica,  and  Saratoga  Springs,  he  sowed  the  good 
seed,  and  saw  several  converted. 

Bro^ATi  cleared  and  cultivated  his  own  farm,  working 
much  of  the  time  through  the  week,  and  preaching  con- 
stantly on  the  Sabbath.  Other  towns  were  visited,  and  he 
preached  the  word  of  life  in  all  the  surrounding  settle- 
ments, especially  on  funeral  occasions.  Converts  were 
multiplied,  and  in  1812  he  ordained  Jeremiah  Folsom  of 
Middlebury  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Folsom  was  a 
strong,  devoted,  and  useful  man  ;  a  fit  companion  for 
Brown  in  the  arduous  labors  of  that  great  harvest  field. 
Other  churches  were  organized,  and  they  occasionally  met 
together  for  a  general  meeting.  January  2,  1813,  they 
met  at  the  house  of  Dea.  MicajahBrotherton,  in  Warsaw, 
and  the  Bethany  Quarterly  Meeting  [now  G-enesee]  was 
organized  ;  and  Abraham  Folsom  was  chosen  standing 
clerk.  The  number  of  churches  was  three,  Bethany, 
Middlebury,  and  Leroy ;  the  whole  number  of  members 
was  seventy-eight,  and  Brown  and  Folsom  were  the  only 
ministers.  A  sermon  was  preached  on  the  Sabbath  by 
Folsom,  followed  by  many  exhortations  and  the  Lord's 
supper.     The  next  day  six  were  baptized. 

The  second  session  was  held  May  1st,  at  the  house  of 


1814.]  JENKINS'    ORDINATION.  321 

Herman  Jenkins  in  Batavia,  at  which  time  he  received  li- 
cense to  preach.  By  appointment,  Folsom  performed  a 
missionary  tour  east  of  the  Genesee  river,  and  went  three 
times  into  Erie  county,  south  of  Buffalo,  and  baptized  two 
in  Hamburg.  For  several  sessions  of  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, committees  were  sent  into  Erie  county,  each  commit- 
tee leaving  a  line  of  appointments  for  those  who  should 
follow  three  months  afterwards.  At  the  October  Quar- 
terly Meeting  the  Bethany  church  was  enjoying  a  precious 
revival,  and  committees  were  sent  east,  west,  north,  and 
south,  to  preach  the  word,  confirm  Christians,  and  win 
sinners  to  Christ. 

In  February,  1814,  Rev.  Rufus  Cheney  removed  from 
Waterford,  Vt.,  to  Attica,  N.  Y.  There  had  been  Free- 
will Baptist  preaching  in  the  place  before  his  arrival,  as 
Brown  lived  near  by,  and  soon  assisted  him  in  organizing 
a  church,  which  increased  to  120  members  during  Che- 
ny's  three  years'  residence  there.  At  the  Quarterly  Meet-* 
ing  in  Bethany,  August  20th,  Herman  Jenkins  received 
ordination.  The  Council  consisted  of  Nathaniel  Brovsm, 
Jeremiah  Folsom,  Rufus  Cheney,  and  William  Burton, 
the  only  Freewill  Baptist  ministers  in  the  State.  Jenkins' 
knowledge  of  books  was  limited,  but  his  extensive  ac- 
quaintance with  human  nature  and  experimental  religion, 
enabled  him  to  labor  with  great  success.  His  constitution 
was  iron-like,  his  health  perfect,  his  zeal  ardent,  and  his 
labors  abundant.  Few  men,  on  our  western  frontier,  have 
done  more  efficient  service. 

At  the  May  Quarterly  Meeting,  a  letter  was  received 
from  the  Strafford  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Vermont,  which 
was  truly  encouraging  ;  and  this  occasional  correspon- 
dence was  continued  for  many  years.  Folsom  and  Jen- 
kins went  still  farther  westward,  into  Cattaraugus  county, 
and  a  church  of  four  members  was  organized  on  Vermont 
Hill,  in  Willink,!  now  Holland,  where  the  Quarterly  Meet- 

^  Willink  was  a  name  given  to  all  the  south  part  of  Erie  county,  cona- 
prising  what  is  now  fourteen  different  towns. 


322  NEW   YORK.  [1816. 

ing  Y/as  held  August,  1815.  This  church  was  the  first 
one  organized  in  what  is  now  the  Erie  Quarterly  Meeting. 
The  next  year  Rev.  Nathaniel  Ketchum  was  received  into 
the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  Rev.  Jonathan  N.  Hinkley 
removed  his  family  to  Parma,  not  knowing  as  there  was 
another  Freewill  Baptist  family  within  forty  miles  of  him. 
He  soon  learned  that  there  were  nine  persons  a  few  miles 
distant  who  had  banded  together  for  the  purpose  of  sus- 
taining meetings,  with  whom  he  united,  and  their  number 
soon  pressed  hard  upon  one  hundred.  Cheney  and  Jen- 
kins went  into  that  vicinity,  and  churches  were  organized 
in  Sweden  and  Murray. 

Rev.  Thomas  Lewis,  of  Clinton,  Me.,  had  heard  of  the 
spiritual  destitution  in  Ohio,  and  he  now  left  vvHithhis  fam- 
ily for  that  distant  field  of  labor.  Late  in  the  autumn  of 
of  1816,  he  reached  Walworth,  N.  Y.,  and,  meeting  old 
acquaintances  there,  he  was  induced  to  remain  till  spring. 
Faithful  to  his  commission,  he  at  once  began  to  preach 
Christ  in  their  log  school  houses  and  humble  dwellings. 
Sinners  Avere  converted,  and  the  reformation  extended  in- 
to Ontario  and  Macedon.  Lewis  had  some  eccentricities, 
and  consequently  furious  foes,  as  well  as  faithful  friends. 
A  gentleman  in  that  part  of  the  town  where  the  Walworth 
church  is  now  located,  having  heard  him  and  his  doctrines 
denounced  in  unmeasured  terms,  sought  his  acquaintance 
and  an  appointment  at  his  own  house.  The  people  assem- 
bled, and  at  the  appointed  hour  Lewis  entered,  pronounc- 
ing in  clear  and  solemn  tones  the  apostolic  salutation  : 
"  Peace  be  unto  this  house."  Pausing  a  moment,  he  then 
commenced  a  song  of  praise ;  and,  before  the  hymn  was 
closed,  many  eyes  were  sufiused  with  tears,  and  many 
hearts  were  panting  for  the  word  of  life.  He  spoke  as  one 
having  authority,  and  yet  with  Christian  humility,  so  that 
the  word  took  effect,  and  gi'eat  was  the  company  that  soon 
published  it.  The  work  extended  till  hundreds  were  con- 
verted, though  few  of  them  united  with  the  Freewill  Bap- 
tists.    The   converts  hesitated  in  joining  with  a  people 


1817.]  CHURCH   IN   BOSTON.  323 

against  whom  so  much  was  said,  and  about  whom  so  little 
was  known.  Consequently,  from  this  "great  reforma- 
tion," which  extended  into  adjoining  towns,  only  six  per- 
sons were  ready  to  organize  as  a  church.  The  next  June, 
Lewis  returned  to  Maine  for  money  to  pay  for  his  pur- 
chased home,  and  became  engaged  in  a  revival  there,  so 
that  his  plans  were  changed,  and,  instead  of  returning  to 
New  York,  he  sent  for  his  family,  and  Maine  again  be- 
came his  home. 

These  two  outposts,  Parma  and  Walworth,  near  the 
shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  on  each  side  of  the  Genesee 
river,  were  permanently  held,  and  became  radiating  cen- 
tres, diifusing  light  and  truth  through  the  surrounding 
country,  till  the  Rochester  Quarterly  Meeting,  and,  in  a 
great  measure,  the  Genesee  Yearly  Meeting,  have  been 
the  result. 

At  this  time,  the  Benton  church,  under  the  care  of  Rev. 
Zebulon  Dean,  began  to  rise  from  its  distracted  condition. 
It  was  on  the  western  shore  of  lake  Seneca,  extended  over 
a  territory  forty  miles  in  diameter,  and  became  another 
central  location. 

Early  in  the  summer,  Folsom  and  Jenkins  went  to  Bos- 
ton, some  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Buffalo,  and  called 
upon  the  people  to  repent  and  turn  to  the  Lord.  The 
warning  wa,s  heeded,  and  in  three  months,  seventy  brought 
forth  "  fruits  meet  for  repentance."  "  Doolittle's  barn 
was  the  scene  of  many  struggles  and  triumphant  victories." 
A  small  church  was  then  organized,  and  Folsom  located 
himself  there  and  became  its  faithful  pastor.  For  three 
years  it  enjoyed  uninterrupted  prosperity,  and  other  church- 
es were  organized  in  Erie  County.  Richard  M.  Carey  Avas 
now  entering  the  gospel  field  with  great  interest,  and  re- 
vivals were  the  result  of  his  labors  in  Hamburg  and  West 
Concord. 

About  the  year  1817,  or  a  little  before,  several  pious 
families  from  Vermont  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
State,  near  Owego.     A  church  of  fourteen  members  was 


324  NEW   YORK.  [1819. 

soon  organized,  and  John  Gould,  one  of  these  immigrants, 
who  had  settled  in  Choconut,  Pa.,  was  this  year  ordained, 
and  removed  to  Berkshire.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
the  Owego  Quarterly  Meeting,  though,  at  the  time,  Gould 
did  not  know  that  there  were  any  other  Freewill  Baptists 
in  the  State,  or  that  Rev.  Daniel  Chase  was  within  forty 
miles  of  him  in  Pennsylvania. 

In  1818,  there  were  at  least  five  churches  in  the  ex- 
treme western  part  of  the  State — Holland,  Boston,  Eden, 
East  Concord,  and  West  Concord — and  they  met  at  Boston, 
June  6th,  and  formed  the  Erie  Quarterly  Meeting.  The 
labors  of  Zebulon  Dean  had  been  eminently  successful, 
and  the  churches  he  had  organized  in  the  vicinity  of  Ben- 
ton, this  year  united  as  the  Benton  Quarterly  Meeting.  It 
was  afterwards  called  Yates,  and  has  -since  been  subdivid- 
ed. 

David  Marks,  of  Junius,  Seneca  County,  experienced  re- 
ligion about  two  years  previous,  being  then  ten  years  of  age. 
He  had  oiFered  himself  to  the  Calvinistic  Baptist  church,  but 
was  two  or  three  times  disappointed  in  not  being  received  ; 
the  hand  of  Providence  doubtless  detaining  him  for  another 
field  of  labor.  Both  he  and  his  parents  believed  that  God 
was  calling  him  to  prepare  for  the  ministry,  and  that  an  edu- 
cation was  a  very  important  part  of  that  preparation.  Being 
told  that  great  facilities  Avere  afforded  indigent  young  men, 
studying  for  the  ministry,  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  he  left 
home  on  foot  and  alone,  when  but  thirteen  years  of  age, 
and  went  to  Brown  University,  expecting  to  be  educated 
free  of  expense.  Sad  was  his  disappointment  when  the 
President  informed  him  that  tuition  only  would  be  free. . 
No  other  alternative  was  now  left  but  to  retrace  his  steps, 
which  he  did  with  a  heavy  heart. 

In  July,  1819,  Zebulon  Dean  and  Samuel  Wire  heard 
of  his  situation,  and  went  thirty  miles  to  see  him.  Then 
commenced  his  acquaintance  with  the  Freewill  Baptists  ; 
he  requested  baptisin,  and  July  11th  was  the  happy  day 
on  which  he  followed  the  Saviour's  example.      Dean  and 


1819.]  OKDINATIONS.  325 

Wire  preached  at  Junius  repeatedly,  a  revival  followed, 
fifteen  vs^ere  baptized,  and  a  church  was  organized  the  next 
January.  Both  of  these  men  lived  to  do  a  great  work  in 
western  New  York. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1809,  Bethany  ;  '12,  Mid- 
dlebury,  and  Leroy ;  '13,  Turin;  '14,  Attica,  and  Hol- 
land ;  '16,  Boston,  Eden,  Ishua,  Murray,  Parma,  Sheldon, 
Sweden,  and  Walworth  ;  '17,  East  Concord,  West  Con- 
cord, and  Ontario  ;  '18,  Alexander,  Benton,  Bergen,  Bru- 
tus, Lyons,  and  West  Windsor  ;  '19,  Berkshire,  Candor, 
Candor  and  Owego,  Lebanon  and  Smyrna,  Second  Onta- 
rio, Phelps,  and  Wayne. 

Ordinations.  In  1812,  Jeremiah  Folsom  ;  '13,  Zebu- 
Ion  Dean,  and  Nathaniel  Ketchtim  ;  '14,  Thomas  R.  Glea- 
son,  Herman  Jenkins,  and  Jonas  Parmenter  ;  '16,  Abra- 
ham Folsom ;  '17,  John  Gould ;  '18,  Manoah  Delling, 
and  Josiah  Fowler  ;  '19, Barnes,  Benjamin  J.  Fow- 
ler, Truman  Gillett,  and  Samuel  Wire.  It  is  unknown  in 
what  years  William  Burton,  Solomon  P.  Colver,  and  Is- 
rael Craw  were  ordained 
28 


326  PENNSYLVANIA.  [1810. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

1810—1820. 

Colby's  Tour  through  the  State — Crooker  at  Plymouth — Chase  at  Mount 
■  Pleasant — Gould  at  Choconet — Samuel  "Williams — Cooksto\vn  Quar- 
terly Meeting — Churches  Organized — Ordinations. 

John  Colby's  tour  to  Ohio  in  1810,  lay  through  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  so  many  were  the  calls  for  preaching  that  he 
was  nearly  three  months  in  the  State.  lie  entered  it  from 
New  York  into  Bradford  county,  and  spent  several  weeks 
in  the  interior  of  the  State,  at  Half  Moon  and  in  that  vi- 
cinity, holding  meetings  every  day,  and  saw  many  con- 
verted. From  the  interior,  he  went  into  the  very  south- 
west part  of  the  state,  thence  northward  to  Pittsburg, 
where  he  spent  nine  days,  and  crossed  into  Ohio,  having 
preached  frequently  along  the  route,  but  organized  no 
churches.  Returning  through  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
State,  two  months  afterwards,  he  found  Erie  to  be  quite  a 
large  village,  and  noted  for  wickedness.  There  being  no 
meeting  in  the  town,  he  made  an  appointment  Sabbath 
morning,  May  20th,  and  on  his  way  to  the  meeting  at  the 
appointed  hour,  he  says,  "  I  walked  through  the  main 
street,  nearly  half  a  mile,  with  my  hat  off,  singing  the 
judgment  hymn,  hoping  thereby  to  excite  their  attention." 
But  the  people  were  too  hardened  in  sin  to  desire  preach- 
ing, and,  after  waiting  an  hour  and  a  half,  he  commenced 
religious  service  with  an  audience  of  three  men,  as  many 
women,  and  four  children..     Colby  was  probably  the  first 


1817.]  CHASE  AKD  GOULD.  327 

Freewill  Baptist  preacher  in  the  State,   and  was  followed 
by  no  other  for  several  years. 

At  the  Nove-mber  Yearly  Meeting  in  Maine,  1814,  Rev. 
Daniel  Hutchinson  gave  a  cheering  account  of  a  Freewill 
Baptist  interest  established  at  Plymouth,  Penn.,  by  Eev. 
Lemuel  Crooker,  who  had  three  churches  under  his  pas- 
toral care.  Plymouth  is  on  the  Susquehanaa  river,*  tow- 
ards the  northeast  part  of  the  State,  and  this  record  is 
the  only  clue  that  has  been  found  to  that  interest. 

Daniel  Chase  was  a  native  of  Stratham,  N.  H.,  born 
in  1770,  made  a  profession  of  religion  in  1790,  was  li- 
censed by  Randall  about  the  year  1800,  and  was  ordained 
by  him  and  others  soon  after.  In  1816,  he  removed 
from  Vermont  to  Mount  Pleasant  in  the  northeastern 
county  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  labored  almost  alone  for 
many  years,  and  embodied  a  few  churches.  He  is  believed 
to  have  been  the  first  Freewill  Baptist  minister  settled  in 
the  State,  and  for  thirty  years  he  labored  there  and  in  ad- 
joining counties,  with  considerable  success. 

About  the  year  1817,  John  Gould,  from  Vermont,  set- 
tled in  Choconet,  near  the  New  York  line,  where  a  church 
was  organized.  He  was  soon  ordained,  and  moved  into 
Berkshire,  N.  Y.,  but  often  preached  in  that  part  of 
Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  where  he  and  Chase  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  Susquehanna  Yearly  Meeting. 

Both  of  them  were  efficient  laborers,  but  our  knowledge 
of  their  particular  effiarts  or  sviccess  is  sadly  deficient. 

Early  in  the  autumn  of  1817,  Rev.  Samuel  Williams  of 
Maine  set  out  for  "  the  West,"  and  being  detained  in 
Westmoreland  county,  near  Pittsburg,  he  relinquished  the 
idea  of  pursuing  his  journey  before  the  next  spring.  He 
was  a  fearless  but  uncultivated  man,  and  his  ardent  piety 
would  not  allow  him  to  rest  when  anything  could  be  done 
in  his  Master's  service.  Meetings  were  appointed,  Christ 
was  preached,  sinners  were  reproved,  and  some  of  them 
converted.  The  first  baptism  was  the  next  season,  when 
ia  church  was  organized  that  continued  to  thrive  amidst 


328  PENNSYLVANIA.  [1820. 

great  opposition.  No  report  was  too  slanderous  for  circu- 
lation against  "  the  mad  Yankee,"  as  he  was  usually  call- 
ed, and  no  influence  was  too  oppressive  against  his  perse- 
cuted disciples.  But  his  labors  were  greatly  blessed,  and 
the  next  season  he  decided  to  remain  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  churches  multiplied  around  him,  tiU  the  Cooks- 
town  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  afterwards  the  Pennsylvania 
Yearly  Meeting,  were  organized.  For  many  years  he  sus- 
tained a  controlling  influence,  and  was  regarded  as  a  good 
and  strong  man. 

The  early  history  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  in  Pennsyl- 
vania is  more  deficient  than  that  of  any  other  State.  It 
amounts  only  to  the  statements  given  above,  which  are  far 
from  being  satisfactory. 

Churches  Organized.  The  only  churches  knoion  to 
have  been  organized  in  this  decade  were  Choconet  and 
Cookstown. 

Ordinations.  In  1817,  James  M.  Shurtliff ;  and  in 
1818,  James  Williams. 


1810.]  REV.    ELI   STEDMAN.  329 


CHAPTER   XX. 
OHIO. 

1804—1820. 

Kev.  Eli  Stedman — Locates  in  Southeastern  Ohio — Church  at  Rutland 
— Colby's  Visit — His  Journey  through  Seventy  Miles  of  "Woods — Ath- 
ens Quarterly  Meeting — David  Dudley — Avery  Moulton — Rufus  Che- 
ney in  Southern  Ohio — Revival  in  Meigs  County — ^Yearly  Meeting  Or- 
ganized— Fall  of  a  Minister — ^Yearly  Meeting  unites  with  the  Chris- 
tians— ^Moses  Dudley  in  Southwestern  Ohio — Hinkley  in  Northern 
Ohio — Churches  at  Harrisville  and  Milan — Churches  Organized — Or- 
dinations. 

Eey.  Eli  Stedman  of  Tunbridge,  Vt.,  was  ordained  in 
1802,  and  in  1804  removed  to  Ohio,  to  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  State,  and  soon  located  himself  at  Rutland, 
Meigs  county.  He  did  not  give  himself  wholly  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  but  preached  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
what  time  could  be  spared  from  secular  labor  through  the 
week,  he  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  visiting  in  their 
cabins  the  pioneer  settlers,  and  preaching,  so  far  as  he 
was  able,  without  compensation.  For  five  years  his  ef- 
forts were  baffled,  but  he  persevered,  and  a  revival  was 
then  enjoyed,  and  a  church  of  ten  members  was  organized 
at  Rutland,  in  February,  1810.  It  is  believed  to  have 
been  the  first  Freewill  Baptist  church  in  the  State,  and 
numbered  forty  members  before  the  close  of  the  year. 
Large  additions  were  made  in  1812. 

John  Colby  travelled  through  Ohio  in  1810.      Entering 

the  State  from  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  he  passed  through  Steuben- 

ville,  Zanesville,   Chillicothe,    and  Cincinnati,  preaching 

almost  every  day  as  he  travelled.      At  the  last  named 

28* 


330  OHIO.  [1814. 

place,  lie  made  this  entry  in  Ms  jonrnal:  "  Cincinnati  is  a 
flourisMng  town  considering  its  age,  (not  twenty  years 
old,)  and  contains  five  hundred  dwelling  houses.  An  ap- 
pointment was  made  for  me  at  the  Methodist  meeting 
house,  which  I  attended."  A  few  miles  from  the  city,  he 
unexpectedly  met  Jeremiah  Ballard,  formerly  from  Unity, 
N.  H.,  who  now  appeared  to  be  a  consistent  minister  of 
the  gospel,  though  not  calling  himself  a  Freewill  Baptist. 
At  Dayton  he  attended  the  Christian  Conference,  and 
preached  to  a  large  audience  in  a  grove.  Homeward 
bound,  he  passed  nine  miles  north  of  "  High  Bank,"  then 
a  dense  forest,  but  now  the  State  capital,  and  crossed  what 
was  then  called  "  the  wilderness,"  an  unsettled  tract  of 
country,  seventy  miles  in  width.  The  first  night  Avas  pass- 
ed at  an  Indian  settlement,  where  he  saw  nothing  to  eat 
save  two  or  three  potatoes  that  an  old  squaw  was  roasting 
for  supper.  He  says,  "  I  tied  my  horse  to  a  tree,  and  at 
bed  time  the  Indians  wrapped  themselves  in  their  blankets 
and  lay  down  on  the  ground.  I  took  my  chance  among 
them  ;  wrapped  me  in  my  over-coat,  put  my  saddle-bags 
for  a  pillow,  and  slept  very  well.  The  guns,  bows  and 
arrows,  tomahawks  and  knives,  were  plenty  about  the 
wigwam,  but  I  rested  securely.  The  next  morning  I 
started  early,  and  expected  to  lie  in  the  woods  that  night, 
as  it  was  fifty  miles  through  the  wilderness.  I  travelled 
thirty-six  miles  when  night  overtook  me,  and  to  my  un- 
speakable joy  and  surprise,  I  came  to  a  house  where  a 
family  had  moved  in  a  few  days  before." 

Colby  was  two  months  in  the  State,  and  preached  re- 
peatedly in  the  different  localities  as  he  travelled.  Church- 
es were  soon  established  at  different  points  on  the  route, 
and  the  hand  of  Providence  in  this  missionary  tour  will 
be  shown  in  the  next  Decade. 

At  the  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting  in  1814,  intel- 
ligence was  received  from  Ohio,  where  Stedman  was  mak- 
ing continued  aggression  upon  the  powers  of  darkness. 
At  the  November  session,  it  was  reported  that  several 


1817.]  RUFUS  CHENEY.  331 

churches  had  been  established,  and  the  Athens  Quarterly- 
Meeting  organized.  The  next  year  Stedman  and  the  fee- 
ble churches  were  greatly  encouraged  by  the  arrival  of 
David  Dudley  from  Maine,  a  brother  of  Rev.  Thomas 
Dudley,  and  a  nephew  of  Rev.  Moses  Dudley.  He  had 
felt  for  sometime  that  his  field  of  labor  was  in  the  West, 
and,  daring  to  resist  his  convictions  of  duty  no  longer, 
he  went  to  Ohio.  He  united  with  the  church  in  Rut- 
land, and  immediately  began  to  preach,  travelling  as  an 
evangelist  almost  constantly  for  a  few  years,  and  witness- 
ing the  continued  prosperity  of  Zion.  After  two  years  of 
successful  labor  he  received  ordination,  and  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  Freewill  Baptist  interests  in  difierent  parts  of 
the  State. 

In  1816,  Rev.  Avery  Moulton,  from  Canada  East,  went 
to  Conneaut,  and,  for  a  few  months,  travelled  and  preach- 
ed in  that  part  of  the  State  called  the  Western  Reserve. 
•  Many  of  the  people  had  come  from  New  England,  and 
were  anxious  to  enjoy  religious  privileges  in  their  new 
homes,  so  that  Movilton  seriously  thought  of  settling  there. 
But  his  arduous  labors  and  great  privations  in  Canada  had 
already  laid  the  foundation  of  declining  health  and  pre- 
mature old  age,  so  that  he  finally  decided  that  it  was  not 
his  duty  to  go  west. 

Rev.  Rufus  Cheney  of  Attica,  N.  Y.,  formerly  from 
Vermont,  removed  to  Ohio  in  1817,  and  settled  at  Porter, 
on  the  Ohio  river,  ten  miles  east  of  Portsmouth.  He  there 
found  himself  alone  religiously,  being  fifty  miles  or  more 
from  the  churches  in  the  Athens  Quarterly  Meeting  ;  but 
he  immediately  began  to  proclaim  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
The  country  was  new  and  thinly  inhabited,  but  the  people 
were  interested  in  religion,  and  in  September  a  church  of 
seven  members  was  organized,  himself  and  Marcus  Kil- 
born,  one  of  his  spiritual  children  from  New  York,  being 
two  of  its  members.  The  revival  continued  for  three 
years,  David  Dudley  from  Meigs  county  laboring  there  a 
part  of  the  time.     The  people  came  out  to  meeting  from 


332  OHIO.  [1818. 

all  directions,  some  of  them  travelling  eight  or  ten  miles 
through  those  dense  forests  to  hear  the  word  of  life  ;  and 
more  than  one  hundred  -svere  added  to  the  church.  The 
labors  of  Cheney  were  greatly  blessed,  and  he  continued 
the  pastoral  care  of  the  church  during  his  residence  in 
Ohio,  which  Avas  five  or  six  years.  This  was  the  origin 
of  the  Little  Scioto  Quarterly  Meeting. 

God  had  visited  the  Athens  Quarterly  Meeting  in  great 
mercy  the  previous  year,  and  the  revival  continued  into 
the  present  season.  Stedman  and  Dudley  were  now  assist- 
ed by  James  J.  Greene,  Elisha  Rathburn,  Aaron  Hatch, 
and  Barzillai  H.  Miles,  who  were  this  year  ordained. 
Those  were  the  days  of  Zion's  prosperity.  Churches  had 
increased  in  number,  till  there  were  a  dozen  or  more,  the 
Athens  Quarterly  Meeting  had  been  divided,  and  the  Mus- 
kingum Quarterly  Meeting  organized.  The  two  had  unit- 
ed in  a  Yearly  Meeting,  and  all  efforts  now  seemed  to  be 
a  perfect  success.  But  how  transient  are  all  earthly  joys  ! 
Sin  comes  in  to  mar  the  Christian's  peace,  when  it  is  the 
least  expected.  So  it  was  in  the  Ohio  Yearly  Meeting. 
At  its  session  in  1818,  one  of  the  leading  ministers,  hav- 
ing been  charged  "v\dth  a  crime  that  greatly  reproached  re- 
ligion, as  well  as  disgraced  himself,  came  before  his  breth- 
ren and  confessed  his  guilt  with  the  most  evident  tokens  of 
sincere  grief  and  penitence.  Friends  and  foes  were  alike 
astonished,  and  the  penitent  man  did  all  that  could  be 
done  to  atone  for  his  fault.  He  confessed  in  public  ;  and 
on  his  knees  ia  private,  with  tremulous  voice  and  stream- 
ing eyes,  begged  his  brethren  to  forgive  him.  All  were 
ready  to  do  this,  but  many  were  of  opinion  that  his  cre- 
dentials should  be  returned,  as  he  could  no  longer  preach 
with  success.  The  wicked  now  raised  the  shout  of  tri- 
umph, ministers  were  inexperienced,  churches  were  fee- 
ble, and  all  seemed  paralyzed  in  faith  and  effort.  Many 
could  see  no  prospect  of  rising  above  the  depressing  influ- 
ences, and  gave  up  all  as  lost.  Others  could  see  light  in 
Christ,  but  being  left  by  their  brethren,  and  half  discour- 


1819.]        MOSES  DUDLEY  IN  SOUTHWESTERN  OHIO.  333 

aged  themselves,  their  resistance  was  overcome  by  the 
swelling  tide  of  evil. 

At  the  next  Yearly  Meeting  in  August,  they  were  vis- 
ited by  several  preachers  of  the  "  Christian  Order,"  who 
proposed  a  union  between  the  two  bodies.  A  conference 
was  appointed  for  this  purpose,  and  the  union  consumma- 
ted. Dudley  and  several  laymen  objected,  but  a  majority 
in  every  church  approved  the  arrangement,  and  for  five 
years  not  a  church  or  minister  was  there  known  by  the 
name  of  Freewill  Baptist.  Stedman  preached  occasional- 
ly, and  Dudley  removed  to  the  interior  of  the  State.  Oth- 
er ministers  left,  and  Zion  was  greatly  reproached. 

Rev.  Moses  Dudley  of  PhiUips,  Me.,  removed  to  "War- 
ren county  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  State  in  the 
spring  of  1818.  The  country  was  new,  the  privations 
many,  the  people  wicked,  and  no  Freewill  Baptist  church 
or  minister  within  fifty  miles  of  him.  His  family  was 
large,  his  resources  were  limited,  and  so  formidable  were 
the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  successful  preaching,  that  he 
deliberately  concluded  to  provide  for  his  own  household, 
both  temporally  and  spiritually,  and  leave  the  work  of  the 
minister  to  be  decided  by  future  circumstances.  In  the  aii- 
tumn  of  the  next  year  he  was  the  victim  of  a  prevailing  sick- 
ness, and,  when  lying  apparently  at  the  point  of  death,  his 
reflections  were  far  from  satisfactory,  and  he  longed  to  recov- 
er that  he  might  retrieve  the  wrong  of  his  past  indifference. 
On  that  sick  bed  he  resolved,  if  life  was  spared,  to  Avarn 
sinners  of  their  danger,  and  proclaim  the  blessings  of  sal- 
vation. He  slowly  recovered,  and  this  decade  closes  with 
the  above  purpose  in  his  heart,  which  he  faithfully  carried 
into  execution  for  more  than  twenty  years. 

Early  in  1819,  Rev.  J.  N.  Hinkley,  of  New  York, 
spent  a  few  months  in  northern  Ohio.  He  found  a  few 
Christians,  who  were  revived,  and  sinners  were  converted. 
At  Harrisville,  Medina  county,  he  organized  a  small 
church,  which  had  but  little  efficiency  for  many  years,  and 
finally  became  extinct.     While  in  existence,  it  was  a  point 


334  OHIO,  1819.] 

of  Christian  liglit  and  efifort,  Avhere  itinerant  ministers 
were  accustomed  to  call,  and  around  it  sow  the  seed  of 
gospel  truth.  It  was,  indeed,  the  germ  of  the  Medina 
Quarterly  Meeting.  At  Milan,  in  Huron  county,  [now 
Erie,]  he  organized  another  church,  that  stood  as  a  moral 
light  amidst  the  surrounding  darkness,  till  other  efforts 
were  made,  and  churches  were  organized,  and  the  Huron 
Quarterly  Meeting  established.       « 

Chukches  Organized.  There  were  several  churches 
organized  in  southeastern  Ohio  in  this  decade,  bixt  the 
name  of  only  one  is  now  known.  Churches  are  known  to 
have  been  organized  as  follows:  In  1810,  Rutland;  '17, 
Porter  ;  '19,  Harrisville,  and  Milan. 

Ordinations.  In  1817,  David  Dudley,  Barzillai  H. 
Miles,  and  Elisha  Rathburn  ;  1818,  Aaron  Hatch. 


EEYIEWr  335 


CHAPTER  XXL 

THE  FOURTH  DECADE, 

1810—1820. 


Reyiew — Reflections  on  Colby's  Journey  to  Ohio — On  his  Deathnf-Clar- 
issa  H.  Danforth — The  Press — Religious  Magazine — Life  of  Colby — 
Ebenezer  Chase — Religious  Informer — Proposed  Union  of  the  Free- 
will Baptists  and  Christians — Ordinations — War  with  England — Avery 
Moulton  Arrested — Mayhew  Clark  in  Camp — Scarcity  of  Provisions — 
Spotted  Fever. 


A  REVIEW  of  the  ten  years  constituting  this  decade,  af- 
fords great  encouragement  to  the  Christian,  though  some 
of  the  trials  were  painfully  severe.  Many,  very  many, 
were  the  reformations  that  counted  their  converts  by 
scores  ;  but  exclusive  of  all  these,  there  were  more  than 
thirty  churches,  each  of  which  reported  the  number  of  con- 
versions to  be  one  hundred  or  more,  and  in  three  of  them 
they  exceeded  two  hundred  each.  At  some  Quarterly 
Meetings,  every  church  reported  more  or  less  revival  in- 
terest, and  there  must  have  been  in  the  denomination  a 
large  annual  increase  in  numbers. 

Accessions  to  the  ministry  in  this  decade  greatly  ex- 
ceeded in  number  all  that  had  been  ordained  in  the  pre- 
vious thirty  years.  Nearly  one  hundred  are  known  to 
have  been  inducted  into  the  sacred  office,  while  only  six 
were  removed  by  death.  More  than  one  hundred  church- 
es were  organized,  but  the  number  that  lost  their  visibili- 
ty must  have  been  considerable.  Seven  small  Quarterly 
Meetings  were  organized,  "besides  the  two  in  Ohio  that 
united  with  the  New  Lights,  or  Christian  order. 


336  FOURTH   DECADE. 

The  statistics  of  the  denomination  cannot  be  ascertained 
with  certainty,  but  the  following  estimate  is  based  upon 
data  that  prove  it  not  far  from  correct.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  1820,  there  were  about  220  churches,  14 
Quarterly  Meetings,  4  annual  sessions  of  the  Yearly 
Meeting,  about  9000  church  members,  and  200  ministers. 

Colby's  journey  to  Ohio  in  1810,  apparently  unnecessary 
and  chimerical,  was  doubtless  from  the  Lord.  He  was 
never  able  to  explain  satisfactorily  to  others,  if,  indeed,  he 
could  satisfy  himself,  wliy  he  took  that  long  and  arduous 
tour,  only  as  it  was  in  obedience  to  the  call  of  God.  That 
strong  impression,  that  almost  audible  voice,  which  said 
to  him  again  and  again,  "  Go  unto  Ohio,  that  great  coun- 
try, and  preach  in  it  the  preaching  I  bid  thee,"  was  all  in- 
explicable in  his  day,  but  the  providences  of  God  in  the 
subsequent  ten  years  make  it  all  plain  to  us.  That  jour- 
ney was  required  by  the  great  Plead  of  the  church,  as  a 
reconnoisance  of  the  country,  for  the  extension  of  Chris- 
tian doctrines  and  usages. 

Colby  was  a  forerunner  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
and  how  interesting,  in  view  of  the  recorded  facts  of  this 
decade,  to  follow  him  outward  and  homeward,  and  ob- 
serve the  churches  springing  up  along  his  track  a  few 
years  after.  He  passed  directly  through  two  of  the  Free 
Communion  Baptist  Quarterly  Meetings  in  New  York — 
the  Rensselaer  and  Otsego — and  was  the  guest  of  one  of 
their  preachers,  Rev.  Thomas  Tallman.  Then  commenced 
the  acquaintance  of  the  two  denominations,  Avhich  was 
mutually  cultivated  till  thirty  years  afterwards,  when  the 
most  perfect  union  was  consummated. ^  In  the  vicinity  of 
Owego,  N.  Y.,  and  some  of  the  border  towns  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, he  preached  several  times,  and  there  Avas  establish- 
ed a  permanent  Freewill  Baptist  interest  a  few  years  after. 

1  It  is  proposed  to  give  the  History  of  the  Free  Communion  Baptists 
in  the  next  Volume,  in  connection  with  their  union  with  the  Freewill 
Baptists.  A  chapter  or  two  will  probably  be  devoted  to  their  rise  and 
progress. 


COLBY   IN  PENNSYLVANIA.  337 

In  1816,  Rev.  Daniel  Chase  of  Vermont  removed  to 
northeastern  Pennsylvania,  and  for  thirty  years  labored  in 
that  part  of  the  vineyard.  The-  next  year  Freewill  Bap- 
tists from  Vermont  settled  near  Owego,  N.  Y.,  where 
churches  and  a  Quarterly  Meeting  were  soon  organized. 

On  his  way  from  the  interior  to  western  Pennsylvania, 
an  unrecognized  hand  led  Colby  forty  miles  from  the  di- 
rect route  into  the  very  southwest  part  of  the  State.  His 
own  journal  says,  "  The  succeeding  week,  leaving  the 
main  road  to  Pittsburg,  I  took  a  southerly  direction, 
crossed  the  Canawaw  river,  the  Loyalhanna,  and  passed 
Unity  township,  Mount  Pleasant,  and  Conalsville.  I  then 
crossed  the  Youghiogheny,  and  took  the  road  to  Pittsburg. 
I  passed  through  Dunbar  and  Cookstown."  This  was  the 
very  section  of  country  in  which  Rev.  Samuel  Williams 
stopped  on  his  way  to  Ohio  in  1817,  and  where  he  finally 
settled.  And  three  of  the  churches  in  the  Pennsylvania 
Yearly  Meeting  were  organized  in  the  places  mentioned  in 
the  above  extract — Loyalhanna,  Dunbar,  and  Cookstown. 

In  sovithwestern  Ohio  he  preached  repeatedly  for  a  few 
weeks  ;  and  that  was  the  locality  to  which  Moses  Dudley 
removed  in  1818,  and  where  the  Miami  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing was  soon  organized.  And  yet  farther,  Colby  says, 
"  I  crossed  the  Whitewater  and  went  down  into  the  In- 
dian territory,  which  lies  southwest  of  the  State  of  Ohio." 
He  preached  a  few  times  there,  and,  if  we  maybe  allowed 
to  go  a  few  months  only  into  the  next  decade,  we  shall 
find  Rev.  Marcus  Kilborn  there,  commencing  an  interest 
that  ultimately  became  the  Indiana  Yearly  Meeting. 

On  his  return,  Colby  passed  within  half  a  day's  ride  of 
the  place  where  David  Dudley,  ten  years  after,  unfurled 
the  banner  of  free  salvation  in  central  Ohio  ;  and  directly 
through  the  territory  now  occupied  by  the  Marion  Yearly 
Meeting.  A  few  years  after  his  return,  Ave  find  Avery 
Moulton  and  others  preaching  in  northeastern  Ohio,  and 
the  corner  of  Pennsylvania,  along  his  homeward  route  ; 
and  Folsom,  Jenkins,  and  Carey  planting  churches  in 
29 


338  FOURTH   DECADE. 

western  New  York,  where  the  Erie  and  Chatauque  Quar- 
terly Meetings  have  since  arisen.  The  Bethany  Quarter- 
ly Meeting  was  organized  three  years  after  this  tour,  and 
through  some  of  the  towns  in  which  its  churches  were 
soon  located,  Colby  must  have  travelled. 

Now,  who  will  presume  to  say  that  the  planting  of 
churches  in  the  same  decade,  at  eight  or  ten  different 
points  along  this  route,  some  of  them  a  thousand  miles 
from  New  England,  was  all  accidental  ?  Colby  travelled 
extensively  among  the  churches  after  his  return,  and,  like 
the  missionary  Avho  has  seen  the  wants  of  the  destitute, 
and  has  done  something  towards  their  supply,  he  must 
have  told  of  the  open  doors  for  preaching  the  gospel  in  the 
West.  It  is  no  stretch  of  credulity  to  believe  that  his 
verbal  accounts  of  that  promising  country,  and  the  partic- 
ulars of  his  own  journey,  as  given  in  his  published  Life, 
influenced  other  pious  men  to  remove  west  for  the  good 
they  might  impart  as  well  as  receive.  The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  as  evidently  directed  Colby  to  Ohio,  in  view  of  the 
expansion  of  the  denomination's  influence,  as  to  New 
Hampshire,  Maine,  or  Rhode  Island.  His  career  was 
short  but  brilliant,  and  sufficient  to  mark  with  prominence 
this  decade.  His  death,  next  to  that  of  Randall,  was  uni- 
versally deplored,  as  sad  for  his  friends,  the  church,  and 
the  world.  But  the  impress  of  his  life,  so  devoted,  self- 
denying,  and  energetic ;  and  the  subduing  power  of  his 
spirit,  so  meek,  trustful,  and  resigned  ;  will  never  be  lost. 
They  had  a  moulding  influence  in  his  day,  and  they  stiU 
have  in  ours.  Pious  young  men  will  catch  his  spirit,  live 
his  life,  and  transmit  his  example  to  their  successors. 

The  sensation  preacher  of  this  decade  was  Clarissa  H. 
Danforth.  Her  clear  articulation,  strong  voice,  command 
of  language,  self-possession,  deep  piety,  and  good  common 
sense,  rendered  her  an  effective  speaker  ;  and  whoever 
could  divest  himself  of  prejudice  against  a  woman's  ap- 
pearance in  public,  listened  to  her  preaching  with  profit  as 
well  as  delight- 


LIFE    OF    COLBY.  339 

The  Press  was  brought  into  efficient  service  in  the  cause 
■of  Christ,  for  the  first  time  in  this  decade.  After  Elias 
Smith  had  carried  his  most  zealous  adherents  over  to  the 
Christian  denomination,  there  were  still  left  among  the 
Freewill  Baptists  many  admirers  of  the  man  and  his  lib- 
eral views.  They  patronized  his  organ.  The  Herald  of 
Gospel  Liberty,  and  were  greatly  influenced  by  its  theolo- 
gy and  lax  notions  of  discipline.  The  importance  of  some 
counteracting  publication  was  deeply  felt,  and  in  1811, 
John  Buzzell  commenced  "  A  Religious  Magazine,"  which 
was  published  quarterly  for  two  years,  and  then  suspend- 
ed till  1820,  when  the  second  volume  commenced.  The 
design  of  this  work,  says  its  author,  "  was  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  ministers  and  churches  to  their  first  principles, 
and,  if  possible,  prevent  them  from  imbibing  the  errone- 
ous opinions  which  at  that  time  were  zealously  propagated 
among  them.  Also,  to  restore  them  to  their  primitive  or- 
der, and  to  save  the  connection  from  utter  ruin  ;  an  event 
which,  in  that  time  of  excitement,  many  feared  would  take 
place."  It  was  the  first  contribution  to  our  denomination- 
al literature,  "  Containing  a  Short  History  of  the  Church 
of  Christ ;  also  a  Particular  Account  of  Late  Revivals." 
Each  number  contained  thirty-six  pages,  and.  was  equally 
appropriated  to  the  historical  and  revival  intelligence.  The 
work  was  published  on  subscription,  and  did  good  service 
in  the  cause  of  truth,  by  presenting  the  doctrines  and 
usages  of  the  fathers,  the  landmarks  they  set  up,  and  the 
modifications  of  thirty  years  of  experience.  It  was  a 
text-book  of  precedents,  a  treasury  of  historical  facts,  and 
a  harmonizing  visitor  among  the  conflicting  elements  in 
the  churches. 

The  Life  of  Colby  was  published  early  in  1816,  and 
was  a  useful  little  volume  of  250  pages.  After  his  death 
in  1817,  a  new  edition  was  issued,  the  two  volumes  in  one. 
The  fact  that  this  work  has  passed  through  several  edi- 
tions, and  is  still  in  good  demand,  shows  the  estimation  in 
which  it  lias  ever  been  held,  and  no  Christian  can  peruse 


340  rOHRTH   DECADE. 

those  pages  without  breathing  an  earnest  desire  for  more 
of  the  active,  trustful,  Christ-like  spirit  of  Colby. 

The  first  volume  of  the  Religious  Magazine  closed  with  the 
year  1812,  when  other  denominations  were  scattering  their 
publications  with  laudable  zeal,  and  securing  to  themselves 
the  favor  and  confidence  of  the  reading  public.  Freewill 
Baptists  saw  their  own  disadvantageous  position,  with  no 
periodical  for  the  instruction  of  their  people,  or  the  enlist- 
ment of  others  whose  sympathies  and  services  might  be 
secured.  They  mourned  over  this  sad  state  of  things,  but 
how  to  remedy  the  evil  was  a  question  of  doubtful  solu- 
tion. Year  after  year  passed  on,  and  no  source  of  en- 
couragement was  found. 

In  the  rural  to-\vn  of  Andover,  N.  H.,  twenty-five  miles 
northwest  of  Concord,  lived  a  minister  who  had  become  a 
Christian  when  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  united  with  the 
Calvinistic  Baptists.  After  a  few  years  his  doctrinal  views 
were  found  to  difier  from  those  of  his  brethren,  and  their 
fellowship  was  withdrawn.  He  had  heard  of  the  Freewill 
Baptists,  and  sought  their  acquaintance,  but  could  find  no 
publication  containing  even  an  outline  of  their  faith  and 
practice.  He  had  a  personal  interview  with  a  few  minis- 
ters, and  united  with  the  denomination.  In  1810  he  was 
examined  for  ordination,  and  objections  were  made  to  his 
preparing  plans  of  sermons,  and  carrying  one  in  his  Bible 
when  he  expected  to  preach.  As  an  honest  man  and  faith- 
ful minister,  he  could  not  refrain  from  meditation,  or  the 
study  of  subjects  on  which  he  intended  to  preach  ;  but  for 
eleven  years  after  this  he  never  used  a  pen  in  his  pulpit 
preparations. 

During  the  publication  of  the  Religious  Magazine  he 
was  greatly  encouraged,  and  when  that  was  suspended,  he 
still  hoped  that  something  else  would  soon  supply  its  place. 
But  six  years  of  disappointed  anxiety  brought  him  to  a 
state  of  mind  in  which  he  felt  impressed  to  make  an  ef- 
fort himself  to  supply  the  want.  But  he  had  no  experi- 
ence in  editorial  life,  no  capital  for  opening  a  printing  of- 


RELIGIOUS    INFORIIER.  341 

fice,  and  no  endorsers  to  ensure  success.  He  did  have, 
however,  education,  industry,  and  enterprise  ;  and  he  ulti- 
mately felt  himself  called  by  God  to  give  the  denomina- 
tion a  periodical ;  and  this  he  resolved  to  do,  even  if  he 
had  to  work  off  the  paper,  as  well  as  furnish  copy,  with 
his  own  hands. 

In  May,  1819,  the  Elders'  Conference  at  Weare  gave 
him  many  kind  words  of  cheer,  and  the  record  says, 
*'  Elder  Ebenezer  Chase  laid  before  Conference  his  Pro- 
spectus  for  the  publication  of  a  newspaper,  to  be  entitled 
*  The  Relioious  Informer.'  Voted  to  approbate  and 
encotirage  the  same."  He  immediately  bought  a  press 
and  type,  hired  a  journeyman  printer,  and  himself  and 
sons  went  into  the  office  as  apprentices.  The  first  number 
of  the  Informer  was  issued  at  Andover,  July  20, 1819,  with 
a  subscription  list  of  only  one  hundred  and  forty.  It  was 
a  small  sheet  in  pamphlet  form,  of  eight  pages,  and  printed 
once  in  two  weeks,  at  seventy-five  cents  in  advance.  It 
contained  notices  of  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings,  revi- 
vals, ordinations,  dedications,  organization  of  churches, 
and  a  summary  of  religious  and  general  intelligence.  At 
the  expiration  of  six  months  it  was  enlarged  to  sixteen 
pages,  was  printed  monthly,  and  so  liberal  was  the  pat- 
ronage that  the  price  was  reduced  to  fifty  cents.  Under 
the  influence  of  its  order-loving  editor,  the  Informer  did 
invaluable  service  in  securing  regularity  and  uniformity  in 
the  churches  and  Quarterly  Meetings.  It  greatly  aided  in 
sustaining  a  uniform  interest  in  religion,  extended  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Freewill  Baptists,  and  enlarged  their  sphere 
of  usefulness. 

The  Christian  denomination  was  rapidly  increasing  dur- 
ing this  decade,  and  so  strong  was  the  sympathy  between 
it  and  the  Freewill  Baptists,  that  the  idea  of  a  union  of 
the  two  denominations  was  seriously  entertained  by  many. 
Elias  Smith  had  become  a  Universalist,  and  no  longer  as- 
sociated with  either  body,  but  his  two  peculiar  doctrines, 
that  Christ  is  not  God,  and  that  the  wicked  will  be  anni- 
29* 


342  FOIJRTH   DECADE. 

hilated,  were  still  cherished  by  the  ChristiaB  denomina- 
tion. As  the  Freewill  Baptists  were  not  quite  unanimous 
in  rejecting  these  doctrines,  and  as  they  were  known  to  be 
a  tolerant  people,  it  was  thought  by  some  that  the  two  de- 
nominations were  more  in  harmony  with  each  other  than 
had  been  supposed.  To  ascertain  the  points  of  agreement 
and  difference,  an  Elders'  Conference  of  the  New  Durham 
Quarterly  Meeting  was  held  at  Candia,  N.  H.,  Avigust21, 
1818.  The  attendance  was  large,  and  both  bodies  were 
well  represented.  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Dyer  was  chosen  Mod- 
erator, and  it  was  voted,  "  that  there  be  an  investigation 
of  the  difference  between  the  Freewill  Baptists  and  the 
Christians,  so  called."  The  Chairman  was  appointed  to 
speak  for  the  former,  and  Rev.  Abner  Jones  for  the  latter. 
The  record  says,  "  Had- much  conversation  on  the  above 
subject,  especially  concerning  our  blessed  Lord  and  Sav- 
iour, Jesus  Christ.  We  found  quite  a  union  in  our  hearts, 
while  much  Christian  forbearance  was  manifest.  Agreed 
to  the  following  :  '  The  people  commonly  known  as  Free- 
will Baptists,  and  the  people  known  by  the  Christian  name, 
mutually  agree  to  hold  th^ir  present  visible  [church] 
standing  ;  yet  agree  to  walk  in  Chi'istian  fellowship,  and 
assist  each  other  in  all  the  common  concerns  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.'  "  This  agreement  was  signed  by  six  min- 
isters on  one  side  and  five  on  the  other.  Similar  meetings, 
with  similar  results,  were  held  at  different  places  in  New 
England.  A  Conference  was  held  at  Covington,  western 
New  York,  in  1820,  to  effect  "  a  greater  union  between 
the  people  called  Freewill  Baptists,  and  the  people  called 
Christians."  Rev.  J.  N.  Hinkley  was  chosen  Moderator, 
and  Rev.  Joseph  Badger,  Clerk.  The  report  of  the  meet- 
ing says,  "  Appointed  Eld.  Nathaniel  Brown  to  give  a 
statement  relative  to  the  order  and  practice  of  the  Freewill 
Baptists,  and  Eld.  David  Millard,  of  the  Christians  ;  on 
which  statements  many  queries  were  raised,  and  impor- 
tant and  judicious  remarks  were  made,  in  the  greatest  har- 
mony and  tenderness.     The  following  difference  in  prac- 


ORDINATIONS.  343 

tice  was  found  to  exist :  The  Baptists  do  not  receive  any 
as  church  members  who  have  not  been  baptized  by  immer- 
sion, though  they  extend  fellowship  and  communion  to  all 
who  live  in  newness  of  life.  The  Christians  rec«ive  all 
as  church  members,  Avho  give  evidence  that  they  have 
passed  from  death  unto  life.  Found  no  particular  differ- 
ence in  doctrine,  except  on  the  character  of  God  and  his 
Son,  and  on  this  subject  it  is  not  sufficient  to  break  fellow- 
ship." A  spirit  of  union  was  cultivated  by  this  inter- 
change of  views,  but  nothing  like  a  fusion  of  the  two  or- 
ganizations was  attempted. 

The  entire  Yearly  Meeting  in  Ohio,  as  has  been  already 
stated,  went  over  to  the  Christian  order  in  1819,  and  it 
will  be  seen  from  the  above  statements  that  vigorous  ef- 
forts were  made  on  the  part  of  many  to  effect  a  general 
union.  Because  of  the  fraternal  feeling  between  the  two 
denominations,  and  the  claims  of  certain  Christian  preach- 
ers, that  there  was  no  essential  difference  between  them, 
many,  of  partial  acquaintance  with  the  Freewill  Baptists, 
have  believed  them  to  be  Unitarians,  and  otherwise  heret- 
ical, very  much  to  their  discredit.  But  this  error  was  ul- 
timately corrected,  and  the  two  denominations  now  work 
in  harmony,  the  same  as  others  do,  each  attending  to  its 
own  field  of  labor. 

The  Ordinations  of  men  v^ere  attended  in  a  few  instan- 
ces with  improprieties  that  called  for  correction,  and  at 
the  Yearly  Meeting  in  1810,  it  was  "  Voted  that  unless 
there  are  as  many  as  two  or  three  elders  present  at  the 
ordination  of  a  teaching  elder,  we  shall  not  consider  the 
ordination  as  valid."  In  the  Vermont  Yearly  Meeting  it 
was  afterwards  "Voted  that  there  shall  be  no  ordination 
hereafter  considered  as  valid  by  us,  except  the  candidate 
first  pass  an  examination  at  some  Elders'  Conference, 
Quarterly  or  Yearly  Meeting,  and  receive  approbation 
there  :  Provided^  however,  that  in  certain  cases,  a  brother 
may  be  examined  before  a  council  appointed  by  the  Con- 
ference." 


344  FOUKTH   DECADE. 

War.  All  Europe  was  involved  in  war  with  Napoleon 
at  the  commencement  of  this  decade  ;  and  the  overbearing 
measures  of  England  towards  the  United  States,  then 
maintaiming  strict  neutrality,  at  length  became  intolerable, 
and  war  Avas  declared  June  18,  1812.  Alternate  victories 
and  defeats  attended  the  American  arms,  but  the  pecuniary 
and  moral  influence  of  the  war  was  all  wrong.  Political 
feeling  was  most  intense,  and  its  bitterness  often  divided 
families  and  churches.  During  the  two  and  a  half  years 
that  it  continued,  religion  greatly  declined,  though  many 
churches  enjoyed  considerable  prosperity.  Ministers  were 
differently  affected  by  it,  as  the  following  incidents  will 
show. 

Rev.  Avery  Moulton  was  the  leading  Freewill  Baptist 
minister  in  Canada,  and  being  a  native  of  the  States, 
where  most  of  his  friends  resided,  he  was  closely  watched. 
Preaching  one  day  from  the  text,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world.  If  my  kingdom  wei'e  of  this  world,  then 
would  my  servants  fight ;"  he  was  suspected  of  treason, 
and  an  enemy  informed  against  him.  The  magistrate  re- 
quired bonds  for  his  appearance  at  court,  but  he  said  it 
was  unnecessary,  as  he  would  be  at  his  service.  He  was 
engaged  at  the  time  in  a  reformation  at  Compton,  and  sev- 
eral desired  baptism  before  the  trial,  as  fears  were  enter- 
tained that  he  would  be  carried  as  a  prisoner  to  Montreal. 
On  the  very  day  that  the  court  was  to  convene,  and  in 
front  of  the  very  house  where  it  was  to  sit,  the  people  as- 
sembled in  large  numbers  at  an  early  hour,  and  he  admin- 
istered the  ordinance  to  quite  a  number,  no  one  being 
more  happy  than  himself.  Changing  his  raiment,  he 
walked  immediately  to  the  place  of  trial,  and  took  his  seat 
in  front  of  the  judge,  with  conscious  innocence  and  per- 
fect self-possession,  "  while  an  awful  silence  pervaded  the 
assembly."  The  trial  commenced,  and,  suffice  it  to  say, 
nothing  was  proved  against  him.  He  made  his  own  de- 
fence, saying,  "  I  have  done  '  nothing  worthy  of  death,  or 
of  bonds  ;'  "  "  '  but  this  I  confess  unto  thee,  that  after  the 


CHECK   OF   IMMORALITIES.  345 

way  which  they  call  heresy,  so  worship  I  the  God  of  my 
fathers.'  "  As  he  continued  his  defence  of  the  rights  of  a 
Christian  minister,  the  brethren  who  had  assembled  in 
considerable  numbers,  became  too  much  excited  to  re- 
strain their  emotions,  and  witnessed  to  the  truth  of  his 
statements  with  a  hearty  "  amen."  Before  the  plea  was 
ended,  the  responses  were  so  frequent  that  the  trial  assum- 
ed the  appearance  of  a  meeting  of  worship.  His  inno- 
cence was  so  clear  that  the  judge  immediately  dismissed 
the  case,  and  he  was  honorably  discharged. 

In  1814,  the  British  hovered  around  Portsmouth,  N.  H., 
and  an  attack  was  every  day  expected.  The  militia  were 
called  out,  and  Mayhew  Clark  of  Ossipee  was  drafted. 
He  was  a  licensed  preacher,  and  had  been  in  the  practice 
of  holding  meetings  for  four  or  five  years.  When  sta- 
tioned at  Portsmouth,  in  obedience  to  his  country's  call, 
he  forgot  not  that  he  was  a  soldier  of  the  cross,  and  called 
by  the  great  Captain  of  his  salvation  to  preach  the  gospel 
of  peace.  "  One  morning  at  early  dawn,"  he  says,  "  I 
left  my  bunk  and  walked  through  the  barracks,  singing  a 
spiritual  hymn,  to  call  out  the  soldiers  of  Christ,  if  any 
there  were  in  the  camp.  Three  came  out  the  first  time, 
and  a  morning  prayer  meeting  was  appointed  at  the  cook 
house,  at  day-break.  The  third  day  I  was  summoned  to 
the  officers'  quarters,  expecting  to  be  reproved,  and  for- 
bidden to  continue  our  meetings.  Great  and  joyful  was 
my  surprise,  when  they  asked  me  to  sing  and  pray  with 
them,  and  invited  me  to  come  every  evening,  with  the  as- 
surance that  no  other  duty  would  be  required  of  me  than 
the  voluntary  one  I  had  chosen  to  perform  in  the  cause  of 
religion.  My  opportunities  to  labor  for  Christ  were  now 
all  that  I  could  desire,  and  the  prayer  meetings  were  not 
only  continued,  but  at  4  o'clock  every  fair  day,  I  held  a 
meeting  at  the  water  side,  and  the  Lord  met  with  us.  Sin- 
ners were  converted  and  backsliders  were  reclaimed,  about 
sixty  in  number." 

During  the  two  and  a  half  years  of  actual  war,  many 


346  FOURTH   DECADE, 

lives  were  lost  on  sea  and  land,  a  vast  amount  of  property 
was  destroyed  along  the  coast,  and  horrid  depredations 
were  committed  by  the  savages  along  the  frontier.  A 
great  change  came  over  the  nation  in  February,  1815, 
when  it  was  known  that  a  treaty  of  peace  had  been  signed 
at  Ghent  on  the  24th  of  December.  The  army  was  dis- 
banded, party  spirit  subsided,  business  revived,  and  pros- 
perity again  smiled.  But  the  war  had  so  relaxed  the 
moral  energies  of  even  Chi'istian  men,  that  profanity? 
Sabbath  breaking,  intemperance,  and  a  general  dissolute_ 
ness  in  life  and  manners,  were  becoming  fearfully  preva. 
lent.  All  good  men  saw  that  if  the  onward  strides  of  evil 
were  not  speedily  checked,  the  worst  results  of  the  war 
had  not  been  experienced.  Christians  began  to  bestir 
themselves,  citizens  took  measures  to  correct  and  purify 
public  sentiment,  and  magistrates  were  more  prompt  in 
enforcing  the  sanctions  of  law.  Heaven  blessed  these  sal- 
utary efforts,  and  the  tide  of  dissipation  soon  began  to 
ebb. 

If  famine  and  pestilence  did  not  follow  in  the  sword's 
wake,  extreme  scarcity  of  provisions  and  a  most  sweep- 
ing sickness  did.  The  years  1814,  '15,  and  '16  were  cold, 
unproductive  seasons.  A  heavy  frost  early  in  Septem- 
ber, 1814,  so  ruined  the  crops  that  the  odor  from  fields  of 
rotten  corn  was  offensive  to  travellers.  1816  was  noted 
as  the  "  Cold  Season."  It  was  late  before  seed  could  be 
put  into  the  ground,  and  severe  frosts  prevented  a  ripened 
harvest.  Indeed,  frosts  were  seen  every  month  in  the  year, 
and  snows  also,  with  the  exception  of  July.  Snow  fell 
on  three  different  days  in  June,  and  on  the  night  of  the 
13th,  water,  in  exposed  vessels,  was  frozen  to  the  thick- 
ness of  three-fourths  of  an  inch.  The  great  West  was 
then  unsettled,  and  furnished  no  supplies.  Hard  hearted 
speculators  bought  most  of  the  corn  and  grain  for  sale  in 
NeAV  England,  and,  monopolizing  the  market,  most  ex- 
travagant prices  were  extorted.  Corn  generally  sold  at 
$2,00  or  $2,50  per  bushel,  pork  at  $12,50  per  hundred. 


SPOTTED    FETERc  347 

and  otiier  things  in  proportion.  Those  were  hard  times 
for  the  poor  ;  and  many  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  being  of 
this  class,  especially  ministers,  their  wants  and  sufferings 
will  never  be  told.  The  tide  of  western  emigration  now 
set  in,  and  many  feeble  churches,  left  with  only  a  few  scat- 
tering members,  lost  their  visibility. 

The  Spotted  Fever ^  the  most  malignant  of  all  diseases 
that  ever  swept  through  New  England,  clothed  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  families  in  mourning  during  this  decade. 
Scarcely  a  town  escaped  this  terrible  visitation,  and  many 
small  churches  were  entirely  broken  up  by  the  death  of 
their  substantial  members.  The  churches  generally  re- 
ported great  losses  by  death,  and  the  report  from  Pitts- 
field,  N.  H.,  to  one  of  the  Quarterly  Meetings  was,  "  a 
sick  and  dying  time.  Eighty-four  in  town  have  recently 
been  called  away."  Between  1813  and  1816,  including 
those  two  years,  thousands  found  an  untimely  grave,  and 
John  Buzzell  speaks  of  those  mournful  scenes  as  follows  : 
"  An  awful  epidemic  prevailed  through  the  eastern  States, 
called  the  spotted  fever,  of  which  a  vast  number  of  all 
grades  died.  It  continued  its  ravages  under  diiferent 
forms  till  abotit  the  close  of  1816,  in  which  time  the 
churches  lost  many  of  their  most  efficient  and  valuable 
members.  About  the  whole  attention  of  ministers  and 
people  in  many  places,  seemed  to  be  turned  to  the  care  of 
the  sick,  the  dying,  and  the  dead.  Religious  meetings 
were  but  thinly  attended,  and,  in  fact,  the  Avar,  the  great 
scarcity  of  provisions,  and  the  prevailing  epidemic,  were 
the  all-absorbing  topics.  A  spiritual  stupor  generally  pre- 
vailed, and  the  individuals  seized  with  this  alarming  com- 
plaint, said  little  or  nothing  about  the  state  of  their  souls. 
And  relatives  and  neighbors  seemed  to  follow  their  friends 
to  the  grave  with  quite  as  little  emotion."  After  a  time, 
men  learned  to  profit  by  their  sufferings,  God  heard  their 
cries,  judgments  were  stayed,  and  prosperity,  both  tempo- 
ral and  spiritual,  was  again  enjoyed. 


348  MAINE.  [1820. 


CHAPTEK   XXII. 

MAINE,  NEW  BRUNSWICK,  AND  NOVA 
SCOTIA. 

1820—1830. 


Revivals  in  1820 — Thomas  Lewis  with  the  Christians — ^Yearly  Meeting 
at  Parsonsfield — Cape  Sable  Island — Lock's  Gift  of  a  Farm — Death  of 
Tingley — Gorham  and  Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meetings — Revival  in 
Woolwich — Free  Mission  Society — Death  of  Blaisdell — Exeter  Quar- 
terly Meeting — Elias  Hutchins — Montville  Quarterly  Meeting — Maine 
Charitable  Society — Phinney  at  Richmond — Revivals  in  Farmington 
Quarterly  Meeting — Bowdoin  Quarterly  Meeting — Burbank  and  Man- 
son  in  Canada — Farwell  and  Lewis  in  Exeter  Quarterly  Meeting — 
Hamiltonism — Death  of  Bullock  and  Sturgis — Morning  Star — McGray 
in  Nova  Scotia — Christians  in  New  Brunswick — Chiirch  in  Smithfield 
— ^Wellington — Two  Yearly  Meetings — Farmington  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing— Edgecomb  Free  Mission  Society — ^Bradford — Knowlton  settles  in 
Maine — Trial  with  McFarland — Death  of  Hibbard — Labors  of  Fair- 
field and  Stevens — Anson  Quarterly  Meeting — Maxfield — Lemuel  Nor- 
ton— Higgins  in  New  Brunswick — Also  Hathaway  and  Stilson — Death 
of  Lamb  and  Lock — Frontier  Settlements — Hathaway  on  the  Penob- 
scot— Anson  Quarterly  Meeting — Revivals — Death  of  Bradford — 
Churches  Organized — Ordinations — Deaths. 


The  year  1820  was  one  of  ordinary  prosperity.  Thirty- 
two  were  added  to  the  church  in  Whitefield,  and  the  labors 
of  G-eorge  Lamb  in  Phipsburg  were  greatly  blessed,  and  a 
church  was  there  organized.  Four  other  churches  and  three 
ministers  united  with  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting. 
In  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  from  almost  every 
church  came  the  Macedonian  cry,  "  Come  over  and  help 
us."  In  Kingfield,  Hubbard  Chandler  saw  fifty  converted 
in  connection  with  his  labors,  and  in  Cornville  and  adjoin- 
ing towns,  many  were  brought  to  Christ  under  the  labors 


1821.]  DEATH    OF    TINGLET.  349 

of  Thomas  Lewis  and  Joseph  Merrill.  Merrill  was  a 
member  of  the  Christian  denomination,  and  now  organ- 
ized a  church  called  the  "  Christian  Band,"  with  which 
Lewis  united,  and  the  entire  church  in  Cornville,  save  four 
members.  For  twelve  years,  no  organized  Freewill  Bap- 
tist interest  existed  in  town. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  convened  at  Parsonsfield,  Novem- 
ber 4th,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day,  the  remains 
of  John  Blazo,  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  town,  were 
brought  into  the  house,  and  the  funeral  services  Avere 
deeply  impressive.  The  suddenness  of  his  death — by 
lockjaw,  occasioned  by  a  slight  wound  of  the  thumb — and 
the  faithful  sermons  which  followed  by  Buzzell,  Place,  and 
Woodman,  led  many  to  feel  the  necessity  of  being  also 
ready.  Zachariah  Jordan  labored  there  for  a  few  weeks, 
and,  before  the  revival  ceased,  one  hundred  professed  to. 
have  found  mercy. 

Rev.  Asa  McGray  had  been  in  Nova  Scotia  four  or  five 
years,  and  early  in  1821,  he  removed  to  Cape  Sable  Isl- 
and. The  people  were  in  great  moral  darkness,  but  many 
of  them  came  to  the  light  and  rejoiced  in  its  blessings.  A 
church  of  nineteen  members  was  organized  in  March. 

The  churches  in  Parsonsfield,  Newfield,  Waterborough^ 
Belgrade,  Farmington,  and  Second  Montville,  were  re- 
vived, and  received  large  additions. 

Singular  as  had  been  the  career  of  Edward  Lock,  and 
various  as  had  been  his  relations  to  the  denomination,  he 
still  retained  a  friendly  feeling  towards  many  of  his  for- 
mer companions  in  Christian  labor.  He  was  now  living 
in  Belgrade,  almost  eighty  years  of  age,  and  in  the  settle- 
ment of  his  estate,  he  gave  "  an  excellent  farm  in  the  town 
of  Jay,"  to  Revs.  John  Foster,  Ebenezer  Scales,  and  his 
son.  Ward  Lock. 

Rev.  Pelatiah  Tingley  had  now  reached  his  87th 
year,  and  was  a  superannuated  man.     His  devotional  spir- 
it and  denominational  interest  were  still  active,  and  irre- 
30 


350  siAiNE.  [1821. 

pressible  was  his  grief  during  the  reign  of  Cochranism, 
The  Quarterly  Meeting  was  held  at  Waterborough  in  Jan- 
uary, 1821,  and  was  a  precious  season,  especially  to  Ting- 
ley.  He  preached  one  of  his  short  sermons,  of  eight  or 
ten  minutes,  and  the  subsequent  labors  of  Clenaent  Phin- 
ney  were  greatly  blessed.  Tingley  attended  the  meetings 
in  pleasant  weather,  and,  as  his  neighbors  and  townsmen 
became  Christians  in  large  numbers,  the  great  desire  of 
his  heart  was  realized,^  and  he  could  say  with  Simeon, 
"  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace."  A 
few  months  after  this  he  requested  a  visit  from  several  of 
his  brethren  in  the  ministry,  and  a  few  other  friends. 
The  interview  was  one  of  great  satisfaction  to  the  good 
old  man,  now  coming  down  to  the  grave,  and,  rising  from 
the  bed,  he  stood  in  his  sick-dress,  Divinely  supported, 
and  preached  for  a  few  minutes  from  the  text,  "  Render, 
therefore,  unto  Cassar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's,  and 
unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's."  The  sermon  was 
practical,  clearly  enforcing  Christian  duty  in  both  tempo- 
ral and  spiritual  things.  He  failed  fast  after  this  visit 
from  his  friends,  and  died  early  in  the  autumn,  full  of 
years  and  good  works.  His  only  child,  Mrs.  Burrows, 
soon  followed  him  to  the  land  of  rest. 

Tingley  was  a  man  of  few  words,  but  of  close  observa- 
tion. As  a  man  of  learning  and  Avisdom,  his  opinion  was 
often  sought,  and  kindly  given,  though  sometimes  with 
merited  severity.  A  young  sprig  of  a  minister  once  en- 
grossed the  entire  conversation,  when  a  number  of  clergy- 
men were  present.  There  seemed  to  be  no  limit  to  his 
volubility,  flying  from  one  subject  and  person  to  another, 
till  he  turned  to  the  venerable  man  whom  all  revered  but 
himself,  and  said,  "  Father  Tingley,  we  read  of  Judas' 
'  part  of  this  ministry  ;'  and  Avhat  part  do  you  think  that 
was  ?"  Fixing  his  reproving  eye  on  the  loquacious  in- 
quirer, and  waiting  just  long  enough  to  secure  the  atten- 
tion of  all  present,  Tingley  said,  "  I  think  it  was  the  to/i- 
ative -psivt,  sir." 


1823.]  FREE    MISSION    SOCIETY.  351 

■"  Tingley  enriched  his  mind  with  classic  lore. 
And  laid  up  knowledge  as  a  precious  store  ; 
Not  as  a  miser  hoards  his  gold,  to  county 
To  call  his  own,  adoring  the  amount — 
His  time,  his  talents,  learning,  all  were  given 
To  truth,  the  cause  of  Jesus,  and  to  Heaven."^ 

The  Parsonsfield  and  Gorham  Quarterly  Meetings  unit- 
ed in  the  year  1800,  and  continued  so  till  1822,  when  they 
were  divided  as  formerly.  The  first  session  of  the  Gor- 
ham  Quarterly  Meeting  [now  Cumberland]  was  held  at 
Raymond,  May  24th,  Zachariah  Jordan  was  chosen 
Clerk,  and  the  reports  from  the  churches  w^ere  not  very 
encouraging.  The  Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting  con- 
vened at  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  August  21st,  and  the  Magazine 
says,  "The  forenoon  was  spent  as  usual,  in  giving  and 
hearing  reports  from  the  several  churches,  which  were 
very  refreshing.  The  ministers  appeared  to  be  fervent  in 
their  prayers,  united  in  their  sentiments,  and  more  than 
commonly  engaged  for  the  prosperity  of  pure  religion." 

Large  additions  were  made  to  the  church  in  Phillips, 
under  the  labors  of  Hubbard  Chandler,  who  was  this  year 
ordained.  Samuel  F.  Whitten  labored  with  good  success 
in  Palermo.  With  the  assistance  of  a  council,  mutual 
confidence  was  restored  between  Rev.  J.  M.  Bailey  and 
the  church  in  Woolwich,  when  both  engaged  in  the  Avork 
of  the  Lord,  assisted  by  Rev.  AUen  Files,  and  more  than 
one  hundred  were  converted. 

The  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting,  soon  after  its  or- 
ganization, proposed  that  the  churches  should  assess  them- 
selves for  the  support  of  their  meetings  ;  and  in  1799  it 
offered  to  support  any  acceptable  minister  that  would  come 
and  labor  within  its  limits.  This  was  in  advance  of  other 
Quarterly  Meetings,  and  to  it  belongs  the  credit  of  mak- 
ing the  first  organized  eflfort  in  the  cause  of  Home  Mis- 
sions. In  1823,  it  "  Voted  to  form  a  Society  for  the  pur- 
pose of  promoting  Free  Missions  in  Maine."     This  "  Free 

*  Freewill  Baptist  Magazine,  Vol.  I.,  p.  127. 


352  MAINE.  [1824. 

Mission  Society"  was  duly  organized,  and  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  ordered  three  hundred  copies  of  its  Constitution 
and  Circular  Letter  printed  for  gratuitous  distribution 
among  the  churches  and  other  Quarterly  Meetings.  The 
precise  nature,  extent,  and  success  of  this  missionary  so- 
ciety have  not  been  ascertained,  but  its  organization  con- 
tinued till  1835,  when  it  gave  place  to  another,  auxiliary 
to  the  Freewill  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society.  An  ex- 
tensive revival  was  enjoyed  in  Wilton  under  the  labors  of 
Hubbard  Chandler  and  Elias  Hutchins,  and  considerable 
accessions  were  made  to  the  churches  in  Sumner,  Leba- 
non, Saco,  and  Bristol  ;  and  four  churches  were  added  to 
the  Montville  Quarterly  Meeting. 

Ilj:v.  John  Blaisdell  of  Lebanon  had  been  twenty- 
four  years  in  the  ministry.  His  labors  had  been  mostly 
confined  to  his  own  town,  and  those  adjoining,  and  it  was 
his  great  privilege  to  see  the  church  constantly  increasing 
in  strength  and  numbers  during  the  whole  time.  He  had 
been  compelled,  for  many  years,  to  pay  his  annual  tax  to 
the  Congregationalists,  and  this  so  embittered  him  against 
ministerial  support  that  he  would  never  receive  any  com- 
pensation for  his  services,  even  when  voluntarily  offered, 
but  sustained  himself  by  cultivating  his  farm  with  his  own 
hands.  He  had  seen  the  last  of  his  twelve  children  gath- 
ered into  the  fold  of  Christ,  and,  while  a  precious  revival 
was  in  progress,  the  summons  came,  and  he  departed  for 
the  better  land,  aged  66. 

There  are  traces  of  a  Quarterly  Meeting  organized  by 
Rev.. Samuel  Hutchins  in  1821,  consisting  of  three  church- 
es from  the  northeast  part  of  the  Farmington  Quarterly 
Meeting.  But  no  record,  beyond  a  simple  allusion  to  the 
above  statement,  speaks  of  any  session  till  three  years  af- 
ter this.  From  letters  and  reports  of  Quarterly  and  Year- 
ly Meetings,  published  in  the  Religious  Informer,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  the  Exeter  Quarterly  Meeting  had  no 
efficiency,  and  pi'obably  no  existence  till  1824,  when,  at 


1825.3  CHARITABLE   SOCIETY   ORGANIZED.  353 

the  January  session  of  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, seven  churches  were  dismissed,  and  an  organization 
soon  followed, 

Elias  Hvxtchins  of  New  Portland  was  now  coining  into 
notice  as  a  promising  young  man.  He  had  been  a  faithful 
Christian  for  more  than  five  years,  and  a  useful  preacher 
between  one  -and  two,  and  February  1st  he  was  ordained 
at  the  house  of  Col.  Charles  Morse  in  "Wilton.  Eev. 
Ward  Lock  preached  the  sermon,  Ebenezer  Scales  made 
the  prayer,  John  Foster  gave  the  charge,  and  his  uncle, 
Samuel  Hutchins,  gave  the  hand  of  fellowship. 

The  church  in  Newfield  enjoyed  a  continued  revival  for 
tAvelve  months,  under  the  labors  of  Benjamin  S.  Manson 
and  Shubael  Boston.  Large  additions  were  made  to  the 
churches  in  Buckfield,  Sumner,  and  Montville.  In  Dix- 
mont  and  Newbury,  David  Swett  baptized  one  hundred 
and  six  in  three  months.  Never  had  the  Montville  Quar- 
terly Meeting  enjoyed  such  prosperity  as  now.  At  the 
June  session  it  numbered  24  churches,  and  1000  mem- 
bers ;  and  14  ordained  ministers  were  present. 

"  The  Maine  Freewill  Baptist  Charitable  Society"  was 
organized  November  27,  1824 — John  Buzzell,  President, 
Elias  Libby,  Vice  President,  Samuel  Burbank,  Secretary, 
Henry  Hobbs,  Treasurer,  and  Winborn  A.  Drew,  Jere- 
miah Bullock,  and  Zachariah  Jordan,  Directors.  Its  ob- 
ject was  to  aid  indigent  Christians,  especially  ministers. 

Clement  Phinney  had  secured  a  home  for  his  family  in 
Harrison,  but  found  no  "  abiding  place"  for  himself,  and 
expected  none  this  side  of  heaven.  His  home  was  wher- 
ever duty  called  him  ;  and  that  was  in  no  one  place  for 
any  great  length  of  time.  Never  has  the  Lord  had  a 
watchman  more  constantly  on  the  tower,  or  more  ready, 
in  view  of  the  Macedonian  calls,  to  say,  "  Here  am  I, 
send  me."  In  1825  he  was  sent  to  Richmond,  and  for 
several  days  held  a  union  meeting  for  all  Christians  to  sup- 
plicate the  grace  of  God,  and  a  revival  spirit.  The  Quar- 
terly Meeting  was  held  there  in  February,  when  the  revi- 
30* 


354  MAINE.  [1825. 

val  commenced,  and  Phinney  continued  on  the  ground. 
Sectarian  jealousies  began  to  rise,  but  lie  promptly  checked 
them,  and  the  work  advanced  with  great  power.  Allen 
Files  and  Joseph  Robinson  were  his  co-laborers,  and  more 
than  one  hundred  made  a  profession  of  religion  in  that 
town  alone,  sixty-six  of  them  uniting  to  form  the  Second 
church  in  Richmond.  Its  organization  was  the  closing 
scene  of  the  revival,  and  primitively  rude,  but  deeply  im- 
pressive. It  was  in  June  when  the  last  of  the  converts 
were  buried  with  Christ  in  baptism,  and,  as  "  the  multi- 
tude in  attendance"  stood  by  the  water  side,  Phinney 
briefly  explained  a  fcAv  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  and  said,  "  If  any  present  wish  to  unite  and  form 
a.  Freewill  Baptist  church,  they  will  come  forward." 
About  seventy  came  forward,  formed  a  circle,  joined 
hands,  knelt  in  prayer,  and  solemnly  gave  themselves  to 
God  and  each  other  in  covenant  obligations.  Officers 
were  chosen,  and  they  were  pronounced  a  church  of 
Christ.  Phinney  then  said,  "  I  have  now  labored  with 
you  fifteen  weeks,  night  and  day  ;  many  here  have  been 
almost  persuaded  to  become  Christians  ;  to-day  I  leave 
you ;  before  I  go  I  wish  to  pray  once  more,  especially  for 
such  as  design  now  to  seek  Christ.  Let  them  form  a  cir- 
cle within  the  church."  Many  came  forward,  and  "  in 
that  prayer,"  said  he,  "  I  was  nearer  heaven  than  I  ever 
expect  to  be' again  till  I  arrive  there."  The  work  extend- 
ed into  the  adjacent  towns,  and  continued  through  the 
season. 

In  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  revivals  were 
never  more  general  or  more  extensive.  About  one  hun- 
dred were  converted  in  Fayette,  and  two  hundred  in  Far- 
mington. Most  of  the  old  churches  were  greatly  strength- 
ened, and  five  new  ones  were  organized  and  united  with  the 
Quarterly  Meeting.  In  Limington,  John  Stevens  and  B. 
S.  Manson  were  successful  in  their  labors,  one  hundred 
and  thirty  having  indulged  a  hope  in  Christ. 

At  the  July  session  of  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting, 


1825.]  HAMILTONISM.  355 

it  was  unanimously  agreed  to  divide  it,  and  that  the  new 
one  should  include  three  churches  on  .the  coast,  and  all  be- 
tween the  Androscoggin  and  Kennebec  rivers,  till  it  reach- 
ed the  boundary  of  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  on 
the  north.  There  were  probably  twelve  churches  in  all 
— Phipsburg,  Harpswell,  Brunswick,  Durham,  Bowdoin, 
two  in  Richmond,  two  in  Lisbon,  one  in  Lewiston,  Grreene, 
and  Gardiner.  They  met  at  Bowdoin,  October  1st,  and 
organized  as  the  Bowdoin  Quarterly  Meeting. 

At  the  January  session  of  the  Parsonsfield  Quarterly 
Meeting,  John  Buzzell  laid  before  Conference  a  letter  that 
he  had  recently  received  from  Farnham,  Canada  East,  re- 
questing a  visit  from  some  of  the  ministry.  The  writer, 
Samuel  Austin,  formerly  from  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  explained 
the  request,  and  accompanying  it  was  a  petition  numer- 
ously signed.  Revs.  Samuel  Burbank  and  B.  S.  Manson 
were  appointed  to  visit  them  in  behalf  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  and  were  furnished  with  a  crown  apiece  to  meet 
their  expenses.^ 

At  the  June  session  of  the  Montville  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, Revs.  Josiah  Farwell  and  Lincoln  Lewis  were  sent 
on  a  tour  through  the  Exeter  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  into 
"  the  Piscataquis  country,"  to  visit  the  feeble  churches 
and  explore  that  northern  region  between  the  Kennebec 
and  Penobscot  rivers.  Their  report  was  favorable,  and 
other  ministers  afterwards  went  there  and  greatly  aided 
the  small  churches  in  that  Quarterly  Meeting. 

Hamiltonism  had  its  origin  in  that  part  of  the  State, 
and  about  the  present  time.  Jonathan  Hamilton  experi- 
enced religion  under  the  labors  of  Rev.  Thomas  Lewis, 
but  united  with  the  Christian  denomination.  He  became 
a  backslider,  was  reclaimed  in  1824,  and  engaged  in  a  se- 
ries of  revival  efforts  with  Richard  Ramsdell  (a  Christian 
minister)  and  Jonathan  Robinson  (formerly  a  C.  Baptist), 
and  by  them  he  was  now  ordained.  Many  were  convert- 
ed, a  few  churches  were  organized,  and  they  united  in  a 

*  See  the  account  of  this  Mission  in  Chapter  xxiv. 


356  MAINE.  [1826. 

Yearly  Conference.  In  doctrine  and  usages  they  agi'eed 
mainly  with  the  Freewill  Baptists,  but  were  anti-masonic, 
and  soon  claimed  that  the  denomination  had  become  proud 
and  formal,  while  they  occupied  the  old  ground  of  the 
fathers.  Divisions  and  secessions  followed  in  some  of  our 
churches,  and  a  bitter  spirit  of  alienation  was  generally 
prevalent.  They  increased  in  numbers  till  Hamilton  lost 
his  standing  by  gross  immoralities.  Their  churches  are 
now  few  and  feeble,  and  their  ministers  not  very  efficient. 

E.EV.  Christopher  Bullock  died  at  East  Parsonsfield 
in  the  spring  of  1825,  aged  64.  He  was  a  native  of 
Rhode  Island,  commenced  preaching  in  1804,  was  ordain- 
ed at  Richmond,  N.  H.,  in  1808,  and  removed  to  Maine 
in  1814.  He  Avas  a  man  of  fair  talent,  excellent  pastoral 
gift,  and  his  nine  years'  labor  at  Parsonsfield  was  a  bless- 
ing to  that  place. 

Rev.  Nathakiel  Stltjgis  of  Danville  became  a  Chris- 
tian on  a  sick  and,  as  he  supposed,  dying  bed,  in  1801. 
He  entered  the  ministry  ten  years  after,  was  ordained  in 
1821,  and  soon  took  a  journey  into  the  British  provinces 
some  400  miles,  to  preach  a  free  salvation.  He  was  a 
man  of  clear  mind  and  strong  judgment,  and  usually  ad- 
dressed the  understanding  of  men,  to  the  neglect  of  their 
sympathies.  While  at  work  on  his  farm,  moving  a  large 
stone,  he  received  a  severe  injury  in  the  back,  and  endured 
the  most  distressing  pain  for  nine  days,  when  he  was  re- 
lieved by  death,  October  29,  aged  51.  His  conversation, 
during  that  time,  was  all  on  heavenly  things,  and  he  said, 
"  I  have  faith  Avithout  a  doubt." 

The  first  number  of  the  Morning  Star  was  issued  at 
Limerick,  in  May,  1826.  As  it  was  not  a  local  paper,  but 
became  the  organ  of  the  denomination,  the  history  of  its 
establishment  will  be  given  in  the  Fifth  Decade — Chapter 

XXX. 

Rev.  Asa  McGray  had  now  been  ten  years  in  Nova 
Scotia,  and  his  field  of  labor  had  been,  in  many  respects, 
a  trying  one.     But  the  assurance  that  the  Christian's  "  la- 


1826.]  GREAT  REVrVALS.  357 

bor  is  not  in  vain,  in  the  Lord,"  was  his  hope  ;  and  the 
Divine  promise,  "  Whatsoever  is  right,  that  shall  ye  re- 
ceive," was  his  personal  comfort.  He  realized  the  fulfil- 
ment of  both  ;  so  that  while  his  own  soul  was  blessed  with 
great  peace,  the  church  at  Barrington  now  numbered  one 
hundred  and  thirty  members,  and  in  his  vicinity  were 
three  other  churches  and  as  many  ministers.  There  were 
also  many  Christians  of  free  sentiments,  scattered  over 
the  province,  in  connection  with  no  denomination. 

Under  date  of  May  13th,  Ward  Lock  writes  to  the 
Morning  Star,  saying,  "  The  Lord  has  poured  out  his 
Spirit  in  the  province  of  New  Brunswick,  several  church- 
es have  been  gathered,  and  there  are  a  number  of  preach- 
ers there,  whose  views  of  doctrine  and  discipline  are  sim- 
ilar to  ours  ;  and  they  wish  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
Freewill  Baptists  of  Maine." 

The  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting  was  now  greatly  en- 
larging its  borders,  and  this  year  received  an  addition  of 
five  churches.  The  prosperity  of  the  Farmington  Quar- 
terly Meeting  was  also  unparalleled.  Seven  churches  re- 
ported revivals  in  June,  and  seventeen  in  September.  At 
East  Pond  plantation  [now  Smithfield]  there  had  been  no 
religious  meeting  for  six  months,  and,  in  October,  a  few 
Christians  agreed  to  meet  weekly  for  prayer.  At  the  third 
meeting,  several  persons  confessed  their  need  of  religion, 
and  commenced  a  life  of  prayer.  Hubbard  Chandler  and 
others  visited  the  place,  a  church  was  organized,  and  the 
gracious  work  continued  till  seventy  were  brought  to 
Christ.  Rev.  Ephraim  Johnson  now  removed  to  Welling- 
ton, a  more  northern  location  than  any  minister  had  yet 
taken,  where  a  church  was  gathered  the  next  year,  from 
which  the  Wellington  Quarterly  Meeting  afterwards  took 
its  name.  Revivals  were  also  reported  from  Wiscasset, 
Kennebunkport,  Danville,  Lewiston,  Wales,  Poland,  Mi- 
not,  Harrison,  Starks,  New  Portland,  and  Waterborough. 

Arrangements  were  now  made  for  the  establishment  of 
a  General  Conference,  and  the  two  sessions  of  the  Yearly 


358  MAiKE.  [1827. 

MeetiBg  annually  held  in  Maine,  became  two  distinct 
Yearly  Meetings  in  1827,  known  as  the  Maine  Western, 
or  Parsonsfield,  and  the  Maine  Eastern. 

The  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  was  now  enjoying 
continued  prosperity.  It  was  prompt  in  the  transaction  of 
business,  and,  as  few  of  the  churches  had  settled  pastors, 
committees  were  appointed,  who  visited  them  with  great 
regularity.  At  the  January  session,  eleven  different  min- 
isters were  thus  appointed ;  and  the  sermons  by  Stinch- 
field  and  Samuel  Hutchins  were  delivered  with  great  pow- 
er. A  correspondence  was  held  with  those  brethren  who 
had  emigrated  to  Ohio,  and  corresponding  delegates  were 
sent  to  the  other  Quarterly  Meetings  in  Maine.  At  the 
June  session  one  church  was  received,  one  hundred  and 
two  additions  were  reported,  and  requests  were  presented 
for  the  license  of  five  young  men.  In  August,  there  was 
an  addition  of  three  churches,  and  two  hundred  and  ten 
members.  In  October,  thirty-five  of  the  forty  churches 
were  reported,  and  400  copies  of  the  Minutes  of  that  ses- 
sion were  printed. 

In  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting,  it  was  "  recom- 
mended that  the  several  members  form  themselves  into  a 
society  for  religious  purposes,  after  the  similitude  of  the 
Free  Mission  Society  in  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing." Funds  were  thus  collected  and  disbursed  by  a  com- 
mittee, to  meet  "  the  expenses  of  travelling  preachers." 

During  a  revival  in  Raymond,  forty-three  united  with 
the  church,  and  at  one  meeting  sixty-eight  confessed  their 
faith  in  Christ.  Enoch  W.  Bradford  held  several  meet- 
ings at  a  place  called  Blakesbury,  in  Penobscot  county,  a 
revival  followed,  and  a  church  was  organized.  He  was 
ordained  here,  and  when  an  act  of  incorporation  was  ob- 
tained, the  town  was  called  Bradford.  This  year  was  one 
of  revivals  in  all  parts  of  the  State  ;  more  than  twenty 
churches  are  known  to  have  received  additions  by  the 
score,  and  many  were  the  strong  young  men  thjat  God  was 
now  calling  into  the  ministry. 


18 28. J  DEATH    OF    HIBBARD.  3 59" 

Early  in  the  year,  Rev.  Ebenezer  Knowlton,  of  Pitts- 
field,  N.  H.,  removed  to  Montville,  and  was  Justin  season 
to  stay,  in  some  good  degree,  the  opening  breach  occasion- 
ed by  the  defection  of  Moses  McFarland.  When  charged 
with  preaching  Universalism,  and  questioned  in  the  June 
Quarterly  Meeting,  McFarland  refused  to  define  his  posi- 
tion, though  kindly  requested  to  do  so  by  the  Moderator — 
Rev.  Samuel  Whitney.  At  the  September  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, his  case  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  seven.  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin Thorn  chairman,  who  reported  that  he  "  came  for- 
ward, owned  his  fault,  and  willingly  complied  with  their 
request ;"  which  was  that  he  would  publish  over  his  own 
signature,  in  the  Universalist  paper  (if  the  proprietors 
would  admit  it) ,  a  denial  of  the  statement  that  he  had  em- 
braced Universalism.  At  the  December  session,  he  com- 
plained that  it  had  been  published  in  the  Morning  Star 
that  he  had  "  owned  his  fault,"  which  he  declared  that  he 
never  did,  and  never  would.  Reasoning  was  of  no  avail, 
and  he  was  finally  separated  from  the  Quarterly  Meeting, 

Rev.  Daniel  Hibbard,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  de- 
nomination, departed  this  life  in  Westport,  the  place  of  his 
residence  for  the  last  forty  years.  Many  were  the  severe 
conflicts  through  which  he  passed,  but  he  lived  to  see  the 
rights  of  Freewill  Baptists  generally  respected,  and  their 
number  increased  a  thousand  fold. 

In  1828,  Rev.  Smith  Fairfield  preached  in  difierent  parts 
of  the  Edgecomb  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  many  precious  re- 
vivals were  enjoyed.  About  forty  were  gathered  into  the 
church  at  Edgecomb,  and  large  additions  Avere  made  to 
the  churches  in  Phipsburg  and  Georgetown,  where  the  la- 
bors of  Silas  Curtis  and  others  were  greatly  blessed.  Dur- 
ing this  year,  John  Stevens  travelled  more  than  two  thou- 
sand miles  in  the  service  of  Christ,  though  most  of  the 
time  for  five  months  was  spent  in  Limington,  where  one 
hundred  were  baptized. 

The  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting  was  still  enjoying 
uninterrupted  prosperity.     At  the  January  session  three 


360  MAINE.  [1828. 

young  men  received  approbation  to  preach,  several  church- 
es reported  large  additions,  and  four  others,  recently  or- 
ganized, requested  admission.  The  number  of  churches 
was  now  forty-five,  and  another  division  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  was  recommended  in  June,  which  was  unani- 
mously effected  at  the  next  session.  The  old  organization 
embraced  those  churches  in  the  Sandy  river  valley  ;  the 
others,  most  of  them  on  or  near  the  Kennebec,  met  at 
New  Portland,  October  11th,  and  organized  as  the  Anson 
Quarterly  Meeting.  It  then  consisted  of  twenty-three 
churches,  twelve  ordained  ministers,  and  three  licentiates. 
Leonard  Hathaway  was  at  work  in  Somerset  and  Penob- 
scot counties,  where  he  organized  two  or  three  churches  ; 
the  one  in  Maxfield  of  fifty-one  members,  forty-three  of 
whom  were  baptized  on  the  same  day.  In  September  the 
Exeter  Quarterly  Meeting  received  three  churches,  and  an 
addition  of  two  hundred  members  was  reported. 

Rev.  Lemuel  Norton  of  Mount  Desert,  attended  the 
Montville  Quarterly  Meeting  in  September,  and  reported 
himself  as  having  been  a  preacher  among  the  Calvinistic 
Baptists  for  ten  years.  Six  months  before  he  became 
alarmed  for  himself  and  people,  in  view  of  their  back- 
slidden state,  and  made  a  new  consecration  of  himself  to 
Christ.  The  plan  of  redemption  was  then  opened  to  his 
view,  as  full  and  free  ;  and  he  preached  accordingly.  A 
revival  ensued,  but  his  doctrines  were  called  in  question, 
and  the  result  was  the  organization  of  a  new  church, 
which,  with  its  pastor,  united  with  the  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing. 

The  islands  along  the  coast  were  anxious  to  hear  the 
o-ospel,  and  many  of  the  ministers  visited  them  with  the 
word  of  life.  A  new  road,  of  a  hundred  miles  in  length, 
was  being  opened  up  the  Penobscot  river,  and  thence  east- 
ward to  Houlton,  on  the  borders  of  New  Brunswick, 
along  which  settlements  were  springing  up,  and  the  gos- 
pel was  wanted  there.  From  St.  Johns  the  call  was  ur- 
gent.    Late  in  the  season,  Yates  Higgins  journeyed  along 


1828.]        DEATH  OF  LAMB  AND  LOCK.  361 

the  coast,  preaching  as  he  went,  and  at  Eastport  embark- 
ed for  St.  Johns,  He  was  cordially  received,  and  remain- 
ed there  for  several  weeks,  but  found  the  people  too  much 
"  influenced  by  the  doctrine  of  fatality,  and  fettered  by 
priestcraft."  His  appeal  in  the  Morning  Star  interested 
others  in  their  behalf,  and  the  Farmington  Quarterly 
Meeting,  always  interested  in  "  church  extension,"  secured 
the  action  of  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  behalf  of  a  regular 
correspondence  with  the  few  brethren  in  that  province. 

Early  the  next  year,  Hathaway  and  Stilson  entered  the 
province  by  the  way  of  Houlton,  and,  for  a  month,  preach- 
ed to  large  and  attentive  audiences  in  the  settlements  up 
and  down  the  St.  Johns  river.  At  Hodgdon,  where  a  re- 
vival was  in  progress  before  their  arrival,  a  'church  was 
organized,  and  there  Stilson  remained  till  August,  in  the 
meantime  making  a  tour  one  hundred  miles  farther  into 
the  province,  where  he  not  only  preached  but  baptized. 

Rev.  John  Lamb  of  Lincoln ville  died  June  4th,  aged 
52.  For  more  than  twenty  years  he  had  done  aU  that  a 
man  could  well  do  in  preaching  the  gospel,  who  received 
almost  nothing  for  his  services,  had  a  large  family  to  sus- 
tain, and  was  greatly  afflicted  with  the  asthma. 

Rev.  Ward  Lock  of  Chesterville  died  November  25th, 
aged  44.  Revivals  often  attended  his  labors,  but  usually 
he  was  doctrinal  in  preaching,  judicious  in  counsel,  and 
deeply  interested  in  the  advancement  of  the  denomination. 
He  wasted  away  with  consumption,  having  lost  his  voice 
long  before  his  decease  ;  and  yet  he  performed  a  journey 
of  more  than  a  hundred  miles  to  attend  the  General  Con- 
ference in  Sandwich,  N.  H.,  the  month  before  he  died. 
His  luhispered  counsel  and  written  reports  were  there  re- 
ceived as  from  one  on  the  vei-ge  of  the  spirit  land. 

The  ministers  of  Maine  followed  close  in  the  rear  of  pi- 
oneer settlers,  and  the  line  of  northern  churches  kept  pace 
with  the  advancing  frontier.  Settlements  had  been  made 
up  the  Penobscot  river,  much  farther  than  roads  had  been 
constructed,  and  one  of  those  settlers  being  down  the  riv- 
31 


S62  MAINE.  [1829, 

er  with  his  bateau,  took  Hathaway  aboard,  who  preached 
in  all  their  settlements,  and  organized  a  church  at  Ches- 
ter, in  January,  1829,  far  away  from  all  others.  Clement 
Phinney  spent  most  of  the  year  in  the  Bowdoin  Quarterly 
Meeting,  and  many  of  the  churches  were  revived  and 
strengthened.  In  the  Anson  Quarterly  Meeting  there  had 
been  no  general  revival  for  a  year,  and  the  reported  num- 
ber of  members  was  on  the  decrease.  This  was  a  dis- 
tressing thought  to  the  lovers  of  Zion,  and  they  could  not 
rest  tin  the  Lord  should  visit  them  again  in  mercy.  In 
July,  Samuel  Hutchins  preached  a  funeral  sermon  in 
Kingfield,  where  conviction  fastened  on  many  minds,  and 
a  reformation  followed.  Other  churches  caught  the  revi- 
val spirit,  'and  brighter  days  soon  dawned  upon  them. 
Revivals  were  also  experienced  in  the  following  churches  : 
Kittery,  Berwick,  South  Parsonsfield,  Gorham,  Phips- 
burg,  Georgetown,  Bowdoinham,  Lisbon,  Livermore,  Jay^ 
Mount  Vernon,  Liberty  and  Exeter. 

Rev,  Enoch  W.  Bkadford  labored  with  untiring  dil- 
igence in  the  Exeter  Quarterly  Meeting,  little  thinking 
that  it  was  his  last  work.  The  last  of  September,  in 
company  with  Hathaway,  he  had  a  restless  night  in  the 
town  of  Hope.  In  the  morning  they  retired  to  a  distant 
field  for  prayer,  and  there  bedcAved  the  ground  with  tears. 
Rising  from  their  knees,  Bradford  said,  "  I  now  under- 
stand the  cause  of  our  unusual  distress.  The  Lord  has 
shown  me  that  I  have  but  a  few  days  to  live  ;  but  let  the 
will  of  the  Lord  be  done,  come  life  or  death."  The  next 
day  he  was  taken  sick  at  the  house  of  Dea.  Williams  in 
Warren,  grew  worse  every  hour,  and  requested  Hathaway 
to  remain  with  him  while  he  lived,  and  preach  his  funeral 
sermon  when  gone.  He  was  calm  and  happy,  and,  Octo- 
ber 1st,  sweetly  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.     His  age  was  27. 

Chtirches  Organized.  In  1820,  Gardiner,  and  Phips- 
burg  ;  '21,  Malta;  '22,  Appleton,  Brownfield,  Hartlandy 
Limerick,. New  Sharon,  Parsonsfield  and  Cornish;  '23^ 
Dixfield,.  Lexington^  Otisfield,.  Peru,  Pittsfield,  and  Weld  'r 


ORDINATIONS.  363 

'24,  Buckfield,  Frankfort,  and  Second  New  Sharon  ;  '25, 
Fairfield,  Second  Farmington,  Garland,  Hiram,  Newburg, 
Second  Richmond,  and  Sidney  ;  '26,  Dixmont  and  Plym- 
outh, Dover,  Greene,  Harrison,  Second  Lewiston,  Madi- 
son, Norridgewock,  Smithfield,  and  Second  Wiscasset  ; 
'27,  Bradford,  Bridge  water,  Concord,  Second  HoUis,  Mi- 
lo.  Second  Prospect,  Wellington,  West  WaterviUe,  and 
York ;  '28,  Barter's  Island,  Belfast,  Belmont,  Corinna, 
Second  Dixmont,  East  Livermore,  Exet«r  and  Corinna, 
Porter,  and  Shapleigh ;  '29,  Abbott,  Second  Appleton, 
Chester,  Falmouth,  Fryburg,  Hodgdon  (N.  B-),  and 
Kingfield. 

Ordinations.  In  1820,  James  CoUey,  and  Henry 
Header;  '21,  Abiezer  Bridges,  Barnabas  Hedge,  John 
Lennon,  Nathaniel  Sturgis,  Samuel  F.  Whitten,  and  Na- 
thaniel Winship  ;•  '22,  Abram  Anthony,  Thomas  Brady 
(N.  S.),  Hubbard  Chandler,  Roger  Copp,  James  Fly, 
Ephraim  Johnson,  Lincoln  Lewis,  Elias  Libby,  James 
Sawyer,  Ebenezer  Tasker,  and  Benjamin  Tufts  ;  '23, 
James  Emery,  Thomas  Park,  John  Stevens,  John  True, 
and  William  Woodsum  ;  '24,  William  G  Cobb,  and  Elias 
Hutchins ;  '25,  Reuben  Gray,  Andrew  Hobson,  Joseph 
Hutchinson,  Jr.,  Benjamin  S.  Manson,  Edward  Reynolds 
(N.  S.),  and  Stephen  Williamson  ;  '26,  Shubael  Boston, 
Gideon  Cook,  John  Farnham,  William  Getchell,  Leonard 
Hathaway,  and  Samuel  Hathorn  ;  '27,  Flavel  Bartlett, 
Edward  Blaisdell,  Enoch  W.  Bradford,  and  Silas  Curtis  ; 
'28,  Ebenezer  Allen,  Dudley  Blake,  James  Davis,  James 
Libby,  Thomas  Libby,  Sargent  Shaw,  Cyrus  Stilson, 
Jonathan  Tracy,  Andrew  Rollins,  and  Dexter  Waterman  ; 
'29,  William  Abbott,  Yates  Higgins,  Levi  W.  Merrill, 
John  Purkis,  D.  M.  L.  RoUin,  Joel  Spaulding,  and  Wil- 
liam C.  Witham,  It  is  unknown  in  what  year  the  follow- 
ing men  were  ordained  :  Stephen  Bickford,  Joab  Brown, 
Thomas  Crowell  (N.  S.),  William  Knowles,  Henry  Leach, 
Isaac  Porter,  Silas  Russell,  David  Webber,  Reuben  Whit- 
ney, and  Samuel  Wormwood. 


364  MAINE. 

Deaths.  In  1820,  James  McCorson,  and  Asa  Merrill ; 
'21,  PelatiahTingley;  '23,  John  Blaisdell ;  '24,  Thomas 
Lewis  ;  '25,  Christopher  Bullock,  and  Nathaniel  Sturgis  ; 
'27,  Daniel  Hibbard  ;  '28,  John  Lamb,  and  Ward  Lock  ; 
29,  Enoch  W.  Bradford. 


1820.J  THE  TEARLT  MEETING.  365 


CHAPTER   XXIIL 

NEW  HAMPSHIRK 
1820—1830, 

The  Yearly  Meeting  —  Revivals — Sale  of  Liqutr  Forbidden — ^Yearly 
Meeting  at  Weare — Cheney  leaves  the  Denomination — Death  of  Otis 
and  Babcock — David  Marks — Eli  Towne — Revivals — Yearly  Meeting 
at  Strafford — Church  at  Hopkinton — David  Marks — Lewis  at  Ells- 
worth— John  A.  Rollins — Death  of  Martin  and  Quinby — Death  of  Mrs. 
Randall — ^White's  Sermon — ^Dover  Church — ^Free  Baptist  Churches  in 
Vermont — Church  at  Great  Falls — Great  Yearly  Meeting  at  Strafford 
— General  Conference — ^Chase  leaves  the  Denomination — Clark  at 
Dover — ^Revival  in  Strafford,  &e. — Harriman  at  Canterbttry-m!hurches 
Organized — Ordinations — ^Deaths. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  was  held  at  Strafford  Ridge  in  1820, 
Samuel  B.  Dyer  presided,  and  John  Buzzell  and  Joseph 
Quinby  preached  to  a  crowded  house  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
such  as  could  not  be  convened  there,  repaired  to  a  grove, 
where  Aaron  Buzzell,  from  Vermont,  preached  with  great 
power.  Reports .  were  received  from  all  the  Quarterly 
Meetings  in  New  England  save  the  Montville,  and  the  in- 
telligence was  very  encouraging,  especially  from  New 
Hampshire  and  Vermont,  The  report  from  the  New 
Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  says,  "  Several  churches  have 
recently  received  great  strength,  by  attending  more  strictly 
to  the  order  of  the  New  Testament,  and  having  all  the 
necessary  ofl&cers  appointed  to  officiate  in  their  proper  sta- 
tions." Forty  were  converted  in  Danville,  under  the 
labors  of  Jonathan  Kenney,  and  a  church  organized.  In 
Candia,  the  residence  of  Revs,  Moses  Bean  and  David 
31* 


366  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1821. 

Harriman,  the  work  progressed  with  great  power,  and 
forty-six  united  with  the  church.  In  Deerfield,  Notting- 
ham, Pittsfield  and  Canterbury,  large  additions  were  made 
to  the  churches. 

The  August  Quarterly  Meeting  was  held  at  Upper  Gil- 
manton,  and  was  one  of  great  interest.  The  Clerk  says, 
"  Much  praise  is  due  to  the  Selectmen  of  Gilmanton  for 
posting  up  notices  prior  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  forbid- 
ding the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors  in  the  street,  or  near 
the  meeting,  and  other  riotous  proceedings."  This  simple 
statement  tells  a  sad  tale  of  the  demoralizing  influences  of 
that  day,  and  thtf  trials  of  Freewill  Baptists  in  holding 
their  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meetings.  The  universal 
prevalence  of  the  drinking  habits  of  the  people  may  be 
inferred  from  the  Clerk's  concluding  remark  :  "  We  wish 
such  a  spirit  of  philanthropy,  and  zeal  for  the  laws, 
prevailed  in  every  place  where  our  Quarterly  Meeting  is 
held." 

The  friends  in  Weare  entertained  the  Yearly  Meeting 
in  1821,  as  if  it  was  a  privilege,  and  nothing  was  allowed 
about  the  meeting  inconsistent  with  decorum.  Like  the 
New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meetings  generally,  it  was  at- 
tended by  great  numbers,  and  the  reports  were  cheering. 
Ebenezer  Scales  and  John  Buzzell  from  Maine,  preached 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  Clarissa  H.  Danforth  on  Monday. 
A  revival  followed,  and  sixty  were  converted. 

A  clerical  trial  now  occurred  that  led  many  to  inquire. 
Who  is  confirmed  in  his  doctrinal  views  ?  For  more  than 
a  dozen  years,  Moses  Cheney  had  been  an  uncompromis- 
ing defender  of  free  will  and  free  grace,  in  the  salvation 
of  men.  Unexpectedly  to  the  chureh,  he  went  into  his 
pulpit  in  Meredith,  and  avowed  his  belief  in  the  doctrines 
of  Calvinism.  The  people  were  confounded,  and  those 
who  went  through  the  trial  with  Pottle,  fifteen  years 
before,  were  disheartened  at  the  idea  of  another  minister 
turning   against  them.     The  ministry  in   the    Quarterly 


1822.]         WILLIAM   S.    BABCOCK DAVID    MARKS.  367 

Meeting  labored  with  him,  but  he  was  unalterably  fixed. 
From  March  till  December  the  trial  continued,  when,  by 
his  own  request,  he  was  dismissed  from  the  church. 

Rev.  Micajah  Otis  of  Strafford  was  an  official  member 
of  the  old  Barrington  church  when  it  organized  in  1779 
as  a  free  church.  After  serving  as  deacon  twenty  years, 
he  received  ordination  as  a  minister,  travelled  extensively, 
and,  having  an  ample  share  of  this  world's  goods,  gratui- 
tously gave  his  services  to  the  pubhc.     He  died  May  20th, 

1821,  aged  74.  Several  ministers  and  five  hundred  peo- 
ple attended  his  funeral,  and  Enoch  Place  preached  from 
the  appropriate  text,  "  He  was  a  good  man." 

Rev.  William  S.  Babcock  died  in  Barrington  August 
21st.  His  life  presented  a  chequered  scene.  Born  of 
wealthy  parents,  his  prodigal  habits  led  him  into  dissipa- 
tion ;  and  the  corrupting  influences  of  college  life  led  him 
into  infidelity.  He  reformed,  became  a  Christian,  and  a 
zealous  preacher.  His  bark  capsized  in  the  Angel  Delu- 
sion, was  righted  again  in  1817,  and  soon  after  his  work 
was  cut  short  by  the  hand  of  consumption.  He  never 
failed  to  receive  an  annual  remittance  from  his  father's 
estate,  and  died  in  the  full  triumphs  of  Christian  faith. 

David  Marks  of  New  York  was  a  constant  reader  of 
the  Religious  Informer,  and  a  desire  to  see  the  men  whose 
names  there  appeared,   led  him  to   New  Hampshire  in 

1822.  His  visit  was  short,  but  pleasant,  and  the  people 
generally  heard  the  word  with  profit,  and  freely  adminis- 
tered to  his  temporal  wants.  After  spending  a  few  weeks 
in  the  Weare  Quarterly  Meeting,  he  returned  to  meet  the 
long  chain  of  appointments  left  on  the  way  as  he  came. 
In  Chesterfield  he  preached  to  a  large  audience,  and  the 
kindness  of  a  clergyman  present  procured  for  him  a  col- 
lection of  several  dollars.  Marks  was  now  but  sixteen 
years  of  age,  and  several  propositions  were  made  for  his 
education  ;  the  clergyman  agreeing  to  give  him  six  months' 
support  at  school,  and  pledging  an  entire  collegiate  course, 
free  of  expense,  if  he  would  consent  to  give  himself  to 


368  WEW  HAMPSHIRE,  £1823. 

study.  Not  feeling  at  liberty  to  leave  the  work  on  which 
his  heart  was  fixed,  he  declined  the  generous  ofier  ;  but 
his  subsequent  views  of  education  differed  widely  from  th« 
decision  of  this  hour. 

Buzzell's  Magazine  fell  into  the  hands  of  David  Bene- 
dict, the  Baptist  historian,  and  from  it  was  prepared  an 
account  of  the  Freewill  Baptists,  This  history  met  the 
eye  of  Eli  Towne,  a  licensed  Methodist  in  Maryland,  and 
he  resolved  at  once  to  seek  an  acquaintance  with  the  peo- 
ple whose  doctrinal  views  accorded  so  fully  with  his  own. 
He  went  to  Parsonsfield,  Me.,  highly  recommended,  and 
came  to  the  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting  at  Sand- 
wich, in  June,  In  the  Conference,  he  related  his  Christian 
experience,  call  to  the  ministry,  and  was  thoroughly  ex- 
amined. On  the  Sabbath,  he  preached  in  the  morning, 
was  baptized  at  noon,  and  was  ordained  the  next  day.  He 
soon  went  to  Rhode  Island,  thence  to  the  West,  where  he 
died  the  next  year. 

The  January  term  of  the  New  Durham  Quarterly 
Meeting  at  Candia,  and  the  October  term  at  Meredith, 
were  both  followed  by  revivals  ;  and  the  churches  in  Straf- 
ford, New  Durham,  Canterbury,  Gilford,  and  Ossipee 
Gore,  were  also  revived. 

Eleven  Quarterly  Meetings  (being  all  save  the  "Wheel- 
ock)  reported  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  at  Strafibrd  in  1823, 
Not  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  people  could  enter  the 
house  on  the  Sabbath,  consequently  the  audience  in  the 
grove  was  large,  and  the  preaching  in  both  places  was  in 
power  and  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  Additions  of 
thirty  or  more  were  made  to  the  churches  in  Candia, 
Strafford,  Loudon,  Middleton,  and  Weare.  At  Hopkin- 
ton  there  had  been  a  Baptist  church  for  more  than  fifty 
years.  The  Calvinists  and  Arminians,  of  which  it  was 
composed,  at  length  held  separate  meetings,  the  house  was 
awarded  to  the  former,  and  the  latter  now  organized  as  a 
Freewill  Baptist  church  at  Contoocookville,  with  Rev, 
David  Harriman  as  pastor. 


1824.]  LEWIS   AT   ELLSWORTH.  369 

In  1824  David  Marks  was  again  in  New  England, 
where  he  spent  seven  months,  preaching  more  or  less  in 
all  the  States,  but  mostly  in  New  Hampshire,  and  in  the 
"Weare  Quarterly  Meeting,  where  he  saw  churches  revived 
and  sinners  converted.  A  revival  followed  the  Yearly 
Meeting  in  "Weare,  another  was  enjoyed  in  Strafford, 
where  Rev.  Enoch  Place  now  located  himself,  and  in  Bar- 
rington,  Nottingham,  Epsom,  Bradford,  Sandwich,  and 
Effingham,  the  churches  were  greatly  refreshed. 

The  following  narration  will  show  the  readiness  with 
which  some  men  in  that  day  yielded  to  their  convictions 
of  the  Spirit's  guidance.  Rev.  Lincoln  Lewis  of  Maine, 
was  "  directed  by  the  Lord  in  a  vision,"  as  he  says,  "  to 
take  a  tour  westward."  Not  knowing  whither  he  might 
be  directed,  he  passed  through  Parsonsfield  and  was  ad- 
vised to  go  to  Vermont,  where  Jonathan  Woodman  was 
laboring  in  a  great  revival.  On  his  way  through  Franco- 
nia  Notch,  he  says,  "  I  turned  aside  into  Ellsworth,  to 
spend  a  night  with  Eld.  Blake.  Climbing  up  those  hills, 
I  began  to  feel  a  cry  in  my  soul  for  that  people.  I  tarried 
a  few  days,  and  was  importuned  to  remain,  but  the  church 
was  divided,  a  separate  meeting  established,  and  I  passed 
over  the  mountains.  At  Lisbon  I  was  kept  awake  most 
of  the  night  by  what  seemed  to  me  a  voice,  saying,  Ells- 
worth— Ellsworth.  I  returned  the  next  day,  and,  enter- 
ing the  house  of  brother  Blake,  he  said  to  me,  '  I  knew 
that  you  would  come  back  ;  for  several  of  the  brethren 
were  here  praying  last  night,  and  we  all  got  the  evidence 
that  if  you  was  a  man  of  God  you  would  come  back 
again.'  I  then  knew  it  was  the  Lord,  in  answer  to  those 
prayers,  that  impressed  me  with  such  wakeful  feelings  for 
Ellsworth."  He  now  remained  in  town  a  month  ;  the 
church  became  united  and  enlarged  ;  sinners  were  con- 
verted, and  the  same  season,  a  meeting  house  was  erected. 

The  church  in  Pittsfield  was  now  passing  through  trials 
of  two  or  three  years'  continuance,  occasioned  by  John  A- 
Rollins,  a  young  man  of  unsanctified  talent.      He  was  a 


670  NEW   HAJIPSHIRE.  [1826. 

zealous  religionist,  wild  and  fanatical.  He  belonged  to  no 
church,  but  it  was  his  peculiar  pleasure  to  creep  in  among 
FreewiU  Baptists,  sow  the  seed  of  discord,  and  rejoice  in 
the  alienation.  Many  churches  in  the  New  Durham  and 
Sandwich  Quarterly  Meetings  were  greatly  annoyed  and 
divided,  but  when  his  true  character  was  developed,  he 
had  no  farther  influence  among  them. 

Rev.  Richard  Martin  had  been  the  minister  of  Gil- 
ford for  nearly  thirty  years.  As  a  soldier  in  the  Ameri- 
can army,  he  saw,  with  patriotic  pride,  Burgoyne  and  his 
six  thousand  troops,  surrender  themselves  to  Gates  as 
prisoners  of  war.  As  a  soldier  of  the  cross,  he  had  seen, 
with  far  greater  satisfaction,  hundreds  of  penitent  sinners 
ground  the  weapons  of  their  rebellion,  and  acknowledge 
allegiance  to  the  King  of  kings.  He  had  seen  his  church 
arise  till  it  numbered  more  than  three  hundred  members  ; 
and  on  the  territory  over  which  they  were  scattered,  and 
on  which  he  sowed  the  seed  of  truth,  are  now  six  Free- 
will Baptist  churches.  In  the  decline  of  life,  he  did  not 
preach  constantly,  and  on  the  17th  of  October,  1824,  the 
congregation  being  assembled  and  disappointed  in  a  speak- 
er, a  messenger  was  sent  for  Martin,  who  lived  within  half 
a  mile  of  the  house.  The  Christian  hero  at  once  consent- 
ed to  preach,  though  he  had  not  felt  able  to  attend  meet- 
ing that  day,  and  started  with  the  sword  of  truth — his 
Bible — in  his  hand.  He  had  not  proceeded  far,  when, 
putting  his  hand  to  his  breast,  he  exclaimed,  "  O,  what 
pain  !"  He  was  taken  back,  and  died  in  twenty  minutes, 
aged  68. 

Rev.  Joseph  Quinbt  of  Sandwich,  after  a  lingering 
sickness  of  four  years,  died  November  15,  1825,  aged  64, 
He  was  thirty-five  years  in  the  ministry,  and  saw  a  strong 
church  arise  under  his  labors. 

Death  again  came  to  New  Durham,  and  May  12,  1826, 
widow  Joanna  Randall  left  this  earthly  house  of  her  tab- 
ernacle, for  a  home  in  the  skies  with  her  departed  com- 
panion.    Says  Samuel  Runnals,  "  She  died  with  that  peace 


1826.1  CHURCH   IN   DOVEK.  371 

of  mind  that  might  have  been  expected  from  her  well- 
known  character."  Randall  left  this  testimony  of  her 
worth :  "I  believe  she  was  the  gift  of  God  to  me  ;  and 
that  there  never  Avas  a  Avoman  more  suitable  for  the  place 
in  which  she  had  to  stand."  Her  remains  were  laid  by 
his  side,  and  the  rude  stone  that  had  marked  the  place  of 
his  burial,  was  now  removed,  and  the  contributions  of  two 
or  three  Quarterly  Meetings  placed  a  marble  slab,  with 
suitable  inscriptions,  in  its  stead. 

Joseph  White  was  at  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Sandwich, 
in  feeble  health,  and  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction 
that  his  work  was  almost  done.  He  preached  one  of  his 
most  effective  discourses  Sabbath  morning,  and  so  power- 
ful was  its  delivery  that  friends  pressed  him  for  its  publi- 
cation. He  consented  ;  but  the  rapturous  energy  and  pa- 
thos of  the  living  voice  are  wanting  in  the  printed  page. 
His  theme  was,  "  The  Signs  of  the  Times,"  and  the  ser- 
mon has  been  preserved  in  the  Rhode  Island  Freewill  Bap- 
tist Pulpit. 

A  few  persons  of  Freewill  Baptist  sentiments  in  Dover^ 
now  united  in  sustaining  a  meeting,  and  Roger  Copp, 
Enoch  Place,  and  Mayhew  Clark  occasionally  preached 
with  them.  A  revival  followed,  and  a  church  of  twenty- 
five  members  was  organized.  It  is  a  singular  coincidence 
that  the  Morning  Star  and  church  in  Dover,  both  com- 
menced the  same  year,  which  was  seven  years  before  the 
removal  of  the  former  to  the  latter  place. 

The  first  church  in  Upper  Gilmanton,  with  Peter  Clark, 
its  pastor,  now  joined  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing; and  this  accession  was  the  more  valuable,  because, 
just  now,  death  and  removals  had  left  nearly  half  of  the 
churches  without  a  pastor.  The  preachers  that  were  left, 
some  fifteen  in  number,  agreed  to  supply  the  destitute 
churches  in  rotation,  for  the  time  being. 

A  correspondence  had  been  opened  between  the  Weare 
Quarterly  Meeting  and  a  few  small  churches  in  south- 


372  NEW   HAMPSHIRE.  [1828. 

■western  Vermont,  of  liberal  Baptist  sentiments.^  The 
question  of  their  union  with  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was 
to  come  before  the  August  session,  to  be  held  in  Ashby, 
Mass.  The  memorable  "  August  freshet"  was  on  the  28th 
of  that  month,  and  two  days  after  was  the  time  for  hold- 
ing the  Quarterly  Meeting.  All  the  other  churches  were 
located  in  the  interior  of  New  Hampshire,  from  thirty  to 
seventy  miles  distant,  and  such  was  the  loss  of  bridges  and 
the  condition  of  the  roads,  that  Rev.  William  Dodge  of 
Newbury,  who  went  before  the  rain,  was  the  only  dele- 
gate present,  save  from  the  Ashby  church.  He  and  Eev. 
Benjamin  Tollman,  by  agreement,  attended  an  association 
of  these  "  Free  Baptist"  churches  in  September,  when 
the  proposed  union  was  satisfactorily  arranged,  and  rati- 
fied at  the  October  Quarterly  Meeting. 

A  manufacturing  company  having  commenced  opera- 
tions at  Great  Falls,  the  village  grew  with  great  rapidity, 
and,  among  other  comers,  were  several  Freewill  Baptists. 
They  were  occasionally  visited  by  A.  T.  Foss,  then  preach- 
ing at  Dover,  Enoch  Place,  and  others,  and  a  church  was 
organized  in  1828,  Before  a  pastor  was  settled,  the 
church  provided  itself  with  a  house  of  worship,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  $2500.  "Wearied  with  the  uncertainty  of  irreg- 
ular supplies,  two  sisters  alone  sustained  a  minister  for  six 
months  ;  and  noble  women  were  they. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  at  Stratford  Avas  one  of  unusual 
interest.  The  business  being  finished,  several  appropri- 
ate exhortations  were  given  Saturday  afternoon,  followed 
by  a  sermon  of  great  power  from  Stinchfield.  Sabbath 
morning  the  roads  in  all  directions  were  aHve  with  people 
pressing  to  the  house  of  God.  At  9  o'clock  the  ordinance 
of  baptism  was  administered,  and  before  the  hour  for 
public  worship,  the  house  was  croAvded,  and  multitudes 
were  repairing  to  a  grove  near  by,  where  all  met  together 

1  For  Particulars  concerning  these  Churches,  see  Chapter  xxiv.,  on 
Vermont. 


1828.]        CHASE  LEAVES  THE  FREEWILL  BAPTISTS.  373 

in  the  afternoon.  Sermons  were  preached  by  Stinchfield, 
Hobbs,  and  Hezekiah  D.  Buzzell,  and  such  numbers  had 
never  attended  the  Yearly  Meeting  before.  Indeed,  it 
was  doubted  by  the  most  competent  judges,  whether  an 
equal  nuxaber  had  ever  come  out  from  among  the  Granite 
hills  on  any  occasion  whatever,  excepting,  of  course,  the 
time  of  Lafayette's  entrance  into  Concord,  two  years  be- 
fore. 

The  General  Conference  held  its  second  session  at 
Sandwich  in  October,  and  this  brought  together  many  of 
the  people  again.  The  particulars  of  that  meeting  are  re- 
served for  the  chapter  on  that  subject. 

"When  Ebenezer  Chase  was  ordained  in  1810,  objections 
were  made  to  his  written  plans  of  sermons,  and  he  agreed 
to  dispense  with  their  use  till  he  had  made  a  fair  trial  of 
preaching  without  them.  He  says,  "  After  I  was  ordain- 
ed I  never  put  pen  to  paper,  with  a  view  to  assist  me  in 
preaching,  during  eleven  years.  I  then  thought  it  my 
duty  to  write  plans,  and  sometimes  nearly  whole  sermons." 
The  more  he  wrote,  the  more  he  desired  to  write,  and 
the  more  freely  and  fully  he  did  write.  His  course  was 
generally  disapproved,  but  he  was  conscientious,  as  well 
as  his  brethren. 

He  had  accomplished  a  great  good  for  the  denomina- 
tion in  establishing  and  sustaining  the  Religious  Informer, 
but  that  work  had  been  superseded  by  the  Morning  Star, 
and  discontinued.  For  three  years  he  had  attended  the 
Association  of  the  Congregationalists,  as  well  as  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  of  the  Freewill  Baptists,  and  finally, 
in  view  of  the  difference  of  opinion  tenaciously  held,  he 
concluded  that  he  could  be  most  useful,  during  the  rem- 
nant of  life,  by  connecting  himself  with  a  people  that 
would  encourage  him  in  writing  and  reading  his  ser- 
mons. And  in  this  conclusion  his  friends  in  both  de- 
nominations fully  acquiesced.  He  was  dismissed  by  the 
Elders'  Conference  of  the  Weare  Quarterly  Meeting  Octo- 
ber 28th,  1828,  and  united  with  the  Congregationalists 
32 


o74  NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  [1829, 

November  12tli.  More  than  thirty  years  after  this,  when 
reviewing  his  life,  Chase  said,  "  The  Freewill  Baptists 
are  a  people  that  I  early  loved,  and  I  love  them  stilL 
And  could  I  have  foreseen  that  they  would  have  arrived 
so  soon  at  the  place  which  I  learn  they  now  occupy,  I 
probably  should  have  remained  with  them.  Still,  on  the 
whole,  I  think  it  is  well  that  I  joined  the  Congregationalists 
when  I  did." 

Revivals  were  this  year  enjoyed  in  the  following  towns  : 
Dover,  Danville,  New  Durham,  Bradford,  Newbury, 
Newport,  Thornton,  and  "Whitefield. 

In  1829  Mahew  Clark  commenced  his  labors  with  the 
church  in  Dover,  and  says,  "  After  a  few  months,  I  thought 
it  best  to  leave  the  vestry  for  another  place,  as  the  spirit 
that  governed  our  meeting  was  not  in  accordance  with 
Freewill  Baptist  faith."  Others  left  with  him,  the  Acad- 
emy was  hired,  a  general  meeting  for  all  Freewill  Bap- 
tists was  called,  and  sixty-three  attended  who  desired  to 
walk  in  gospel  order.  The  church  organization  was  re- 
vived, new  officers  were  chosen,  prosperity  again  smiled, 
and  a  revival  followed. 

A  revival  commenced  in  Rochester  near  the  close  of 
1828,  under  the  labors  of  J.  J.  "Wentworth,  and  forty  were 
converted.  Enoch  Place  preached  at  Cro^vn  Point  De- 
cember 31st,  from  the  text,  "  Set  thy  house  in  order,"  and 
he  says,  "  I  never  felt  so  much  Divine  influence  through 
a  whole  sermon  in  my  life."  The  revival  then  commenced 
in  Strafford,  and  continued  for  twelve  months  with  great 
power,  extending  into  Farmington,  Barrington,  and  Barn- 
stead.  Place  and  Wentworth  often  labored  together ; 
sometimes  eight  or  ten  received  pardon  in  the  same  meet- 
ing, and  twenty  were  baptized  at  a  time.  During  this 
revival,  more  than  two  hundred  made  a  profession  of  re- 
ligion. 

Rev.  "Winthrop  Young  of  Canterbury  was  now  becom- 
ing superannuated,  having  sustained  the  pastoral  relation 
with  that  church  for  thirty-three  years.     Rev.  John  Har- 


1829.]  CHURCHES   ORGANIZED,   ETC.  375 

riman,  of  the  Christian  connection,  having  moved  into 
town,  was  associated  with  him,  and,  in  a  precious  revival 
that  followed,  one  hundred  were  converted,  and  a  Tem- 
perance Society  of  three  hundred  members  was  formed. 
Harriman  was  received  as  a  member  of  the  Elders'  Con- 
ference, but,  in  the  end,  it  was  found  by  the  church  to  be 
of  no  advantage  to  have  a  minister  of  another  denomina- 
tion. Revivals  were  also  enjoyed  in  DanviUe,  Loudon, 
Upper  Gilmanton,  Wolf  borough.  Sandwich  and  Holder- 
ness.  During  the  year  there  were  five  ministers  ordained, 
four  churches  organized,  and  three  hundred  members  re- 
ceived. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1820,  Alexandria,  Bar- 
rington,  Danville,  Second  Eaton,  and  Hanover  ;  '21,  Sec- 
ond Barrington,  and  Whitefield  ;  '22,  Freedom  ;  '23,  Lou- 
don, and  Stewartstown  ;  '24,  Barnstead,  Epsom,  North- 
field,  Raymond,  and  Second  Tamworth  ;  '25,  Chichester, 
and  Effingham  ;  '26,  Conway,  Dover,  Third  Eaton,  and 
Jefferson  ;  '27,  Second  Wilmot ;  '28,  Canaan  and  Or- 
ange, Grantham  and  Enfield,  Great  Falls,  Hill,  Holder- 
ness  and  Centre  Harbor  ;  '29,  Grantham,  and  Thornton 
Gore. 

Ordinations.  In  1820,  William  D.  Cass,  and  George 
W.  Powers  ;  '21,  Jonathan  Rowe  ;  '22,  John  HiU,  Wil- 
liam Saunders,  David  Swett,  and  Eli  Towne  ;  '23,  Arthur 
Caverno,  and  David  Kent ;  '24,  Joseph  Davis ;  '25, 
Thomas  Flanders ;  '26,  David  Cowing,  Edward  Fay, 
Daniel  Jackson,  Samuel  Montague  (Mass.),  David  Moody, 
and  Philip  Wight ;  '27,  John  Caverly,  Samuel  Cole,  A. 
T.  Foss,  Asa  Merrill,  Paul  Perkins,  William  Swain,  Rob- 
ert Tash,  and  John  Walker  ;  '28,  Benaiah  Bean,  and 
James  McCutcheon ;  '29,  John  Kimball,  Christopher 
Page,  Luther  C.  Perry,  J.  J.  Wentworth,  and  Jesse  Whit- 
taker. 

Deaths.  In  1821,  William  S.  Babcock,  and  Micajah 
Otis  ;  '24,  Richard  Martin  ;  '25,  Joseph  Quinby  ;  '27, 
Nathaniel  Webster. 


376  VERMONT   AND    CANADA   EAST.  [1820. 


CHAPTEK  XXIV. 

VERMONT  AND  CANADA  EAST. 

1820—1830. 

General  Prosperity — C.  H.  Danforth — Concord — Revival  in  Huntington 
Quarterly  Meeting — "Woodworth's  Letter — Yearly  Meeting  at  Straf- 
ford— Letters  from  the  West — Ziba  Pope — Charitable  Society — ^Dover 
Quarterly  Meeting — Morse  at  Windsor — Bowles  at  Enosbiirg — John 
S.  Carter — Revival  in  Sutton,  &c. — Benjamin  Page — Canaan — Trials 
in  Canada — Burbank  and  Manson — ^Yearly  Meeting  at  Tunbridge — 
Morse  at  Montpelier — Bowles  Visits  the  Churches — ^Enosburg  Quar- 
terly Meeting — Stanstead  Quarterly  Meeting — Martha  N.  Spaulding 
—Stevens  in  Canada — Woodman  at  Wheelock — Society  for  Support 
of  the  Gospel — Masonry — Death  ofMoultonand  Jackson — Quimby's 
Meeting  House — Churches  Organized — Ordinations — Deaths. 

Each  of  the  three  Quarterly  Meetings  in  Vermont  commenc- 
ed this  decade  with  a  fair  degree  of  prosperity.  To  the 
churches  in  Strafford,  Tunbridge,  Cabot  and  Lyndon,  con- 
siderable additions  were  made  ;  and  in  the  Huntington 
Quarterly  Meeting,  where  Charles  Bowles  was  constantly 
at  work,  continued  prosperity  was  enjoyed.  He  occasional- 
ly passed  into  the  other  Quarterly  Meetings,  but  his  labors 
were  mostly  in  the  valley  of  Onion  river,  where  he  was  con- 
stantly travelling,  preaching,  baptizing  or  settling  church 
difficulties.  The  Yearly  Meeting  at  Vershire  in  October 
was  a  precious  season.  The  reports  were  encouraging, 
and  the  sermons  by  Charles  Bowles,  and  Nathaniel  King, 
Ebenezer  Knowlton  from  New  Hampshire,  and  John 
Gould  from  Owego,  New  York,  were  all  good  ;  Knowl- 
ton particularly  "  seemed  to  melt  every  heart  before  the 
Lord." 


1821.]  WOOD  worth's  letter.  377 

Clarissa  H.  Danforth  returned  to  Vermont  in  Decem- 
ber, and  remained  till  June,  1821,  preaching  to  large 
congregations  in  most  of  the  churches.  Her  efforts  were 
eminently  successful,  especially  in  Wethersfield,  her  na- 
tive place,  where  not  less  than  one  hundred  were  con- 
verted. 

As  early  as  1808,  John  Agertant,  a  licensed  preacher 
from  Cabot,  held  a  few  meetings  in  Concord,  and  after 
him  Benajah  Maynard  and  Rufus  Cheney.  A  few  Free- 
will Baptists  in  town  sustained  a  prayer  meeting  for  sev- 
eral years,  and  Daniel  Quimby  visited  them  in  1821,  when 
several  were  converted,  and  a  church  organized. 

In  March,  Charles  Bowles  resolved  to  visit  every  church 
in  the  Huntington  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  enlist  them  in 
one  united  cry  for  the  outpouring  of  God's  spirit.  Every 
church,  as  he  visited  .it,  came  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord, 
and,  before  he  had  half  completed  the  circuit,  sinners  were 
seeking  salvation.  Revivals  attended  his  labors  the  re- 
mainder of  the  year,  and  four  churches  Avere  added  to  the 
Quarterly  Meeting. 

Ziba  "Woodworth  of  Montpelier  writes  for  the  Religious 
Informer,  June  13th,  as  follows ;  "  Three  weeks  ago  yes- 
terday, I  had  a  call  to  visit  Roxbury ,  a  newly  settled  town, 
twenty  miles  south  of  this  place.  A  great  collection  of  peo- 
ple assembled,  and  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  a  number  of 
youth,  of  both  sexes,  came  to  me  and  requested  baptism.  I 
appointed  a  meeting  at  9  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and,  af- 
ter preaching  to  a  large  and  attentive  audience,  seven  came 
forward  and  related  what  God  had  done  for  their  souls. 
There  were  several  aged  fathers  in  the  place,  who  had  be- 
longed to  the  Calvinistic  Baptists,  but  were  alive  in  the 
work,  and  ready  to  lead  the  lambs  of  Christ.  They  were 
embodied  as  a  church,  and,  at  their  request,  put  under  the 
*  watch  and  care'  of  brother  Sylvanus  Robinson,  a  faithful 
young  man  of  good  report.  Last  Friday  I  met  my  breth- 
ren in  Elders'  Conference  at  Duxbury,  and  found  a  heav- 
enly union  of  soul  and  sentiment.  Two  came  forward  and 
32* 


378  VERMONT  AND  CANADA  EAST.        [1822. 

related  tlieir  call  to  the  ministry,  one  of  whom  had  been  a 
Methodist  local  preacher  for  several  years.  The  Quar- 
terly Meeting  was  attended  with  the  Divine  presence,  re- 
ports were  good  from  almost  every  church,  interspersed 
with  powerful  exhortations  and  shoutings,  such  as  we  have 
never  experienced  before.  A  glorious  reformation  has  just 
commenced  in  Jericho." 

The  Yearly  Meeting  at  Strafford,  October  6th,  was  one 
of  great  encouragement.  In  addition  to  the  usual  reports 
from  different  parts  of  New  England,  interesting  letters 
were  read  from  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio. 
The  shouts  of  praise  were  irrepressible  among  the  old 
friends  of  Eli  Stedman,  when  it  was  announced  in  the  in- 
telligence from  Ohio,  that  he  had  "  returned  to  his  breth- 
ren with  humble  confessions,  and  was  solemnly  engaged 
in  preaching  the  gospel."  Ziba  Pope  of  Randolph  became 
a  Christian  in  Canada  many  years  before,  and  the  reading 
of  Quaker  books  had  prejudiced  him  against  the  ordinances 
of  the  gospel.  About  a  week  before  the  Yearly  Meeting 
he  became  convinced  of  his  error,  was  baptized,  and  im- 
mediately commenced  preaching,  the  Lord  blessing  his 
labors  in  the  conversion  of  more  than  one  hundred  souls. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  arrangements  for  relieving  the 
wants  of  indigent  ministers,  especially  superannuated  ones 
and  their  widows,  were  not  successful,  and  the  "  Vermont 
Charitable  Society  was  instituted  May  4th,  1851 — Nathan- 
iel King,  President. 

On  his  return  to  New  York  in  1822,  David  Marks 
found  a  church  of  eighty  members  in  Dummerstown,  in 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  State,  and  a  few  others  in  the 
vicinity,  that  had  renounced  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism, 
and  called  themselves  Freewill  Baptists,  though  they 
knew  of  no  others  by  that  name.  Pie  stated  his  own  doc- 
trinal views,  and  they  declared  he  had  given  a  statement 
of  theirs.  Their  history,  in  few  words,  may  be  thus  stat- 
ed:  ^  A  Calvinistic  Baptist  church  in  Dover,  with  its 
^'  Free-will  Baptist  Magazine,  Vol.  i.,  p.  15. 


1823.]  TIMOTHY  MORSE CHARLES   BOWLES.  379 

pastor,  James  Mann,  was  dissatisfied  with  Calvinism  and 
close  communion,  and  voted  in  May,  1821,  that  salvation 
was  provided  for  all  men,  and  the  Lord's  supper  instituted 
for  all  Christians.  A  revival  followed,  and  the  same  year 
a  free  church  was  organized  in  Dummerstown.  The  next 
year  Rev.  Isaac  Wellman  and  a  small  church  in  Brook- 
line  renounced  Calvinism,  and  small  free  churches  were 
organized  in  Hinsdale,  N.  H.,  and  in  Zoar,  Florida,  and 
Chesterfield,  Mass,  A  correspondence  was  opened  with 
the  Weare  Quarterly  Meeting  in  New  Hampshire,  Timo- 
thy Morse  visited  them  in  1826,  and  spent  several  weeks 
in  Dover,  where  one  hundred  and  thirty  were  converted. 
The  same  year  they  united  with  that  Quarterly  Meeting, 
seven  churches,  six  rainistcrs,  and  over  two  hundred  mem- 
bers. These  churches  found  it  inconvenient  to  attend  the 
Weare  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  were  dismissed  two  years 
after.  December  €th,  1828,  they  met  at  Dover,  and  or- 
ganized the  Dover  Quarterly  Meeting.  Its  name  was 
afterwards  changed  to  Franklin,  and,  after  maintaining  a 
feeble  existence  for  twenty-five  years,  it  became  extinct. 

Rev.  Timothy  Morse  of  New  Hampshire,  having  given, 
his  property  of  some  -$2500.  to  his  two  sons,  reserving  a 
right  to  a  comfortable  support  for  himself  and  wife,  de- 
voted himself  fully  to  the  work  of  the  Lord.  His  first 
tour  was  to  "Windsor,  Vermont,  in  1822,  when  he  says, 
"  God  was  pleased  to  pour  out  his  Spirit  richly,  so  that  a 
church  was  gathered  of  about  sixty  members."  In  Straf- 
ford, Corinth,  and  Randolph,  revivals  prevailed,  and  two 
churches  were  added  to  the  Huntington  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing. 

In  March,  1823,  Charles  Bowles  went  into  the  north- 
west part  of  the  State,  and  held  a  few  meetings.  In  July 
he  was  there  again,  and,  after  a  few  weeks,  a  church  was 
organized  at  Enosburg,  consisting  of  five  members,  one  of 
whom  was  Perley  Hall,  who  had  been  a  licensed  preacher 
among  the  Methodists,  and  who  was  ordained  during  an 
extra   session  of  the  Huntington  Quarterly   Meeting  at 


380  VERMONT  AND   CANADA  EAST.  [1823. 

that  place,  in  October.  Bowles  continued  in  that  vicinity 
till  the  close  of  the  year,  organized  one  or  two  other 
churches,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Enosburg 
Quarterly  Meeting. 

While  Bowles  was  making  his  first  visit  in  Enosburg, 
Sylvanus  Robinson  went  to  Grand  Isle  and  North  Hero — 
large  islands  in  the  north  part  of  Lake  Champiain — and 
prepared  the  way  for  his  future  residence  at  the  former 
place.  On  his  return  to  Shelburne,  a  letter  had  been  re- 
ceived from  Rev.  John  S.  Carter  of  Benson,  at  the  south 
end  of  the  lake,  soliciting  information  concerning  the  faith 
and  order  of  the  Freewill  Baptists.  Robinson  immediate- 
ly visited  him,  fifty  miles  distant,  and  ascertained  the  fol- 
lowing facts :  Carter  had  been  an  acceptable  preacher 
with  the  Calvinistic  Baptists,  and,  being  dissatisfied  with 
his  spiritual  attainments,  he  sought  for  a  deeper  work  of 
grace,  and  was  successful.  But  his  work  was  now 
cmly  half  accomplished.  "Take  heed  unto  thyseU,  and 
the  doctrine^"  was  the  injunction  still  pressing  on  his 
mind.  He  gave  himself  to  a  diligent  study  of  the  Bible, 
and,  to  his  warm  heart  and  receptive  mind,  was  soon 
opened  the  full  and  gracious  plan  of  redemption.  His 
conceptions  were  so  clear,  his  faith  so  strong,  and  his  joy 
so  full,  that  it  was  evident  he  had  been  with  Jesus  and 
learned  of  him,  A  large  part  of  the  church  came  up  with 
him  into  the  bright  and  peaceful  regions  of  a  higher  Chris- 
tian life  ;  but  others  regarded  him  as  fanatical,  and  his  doc- 
trines as  hereticaL  A  council  was  called,  and  he  was  dis- 
charged. Another  was  summoned,  and  he  was  dismissed 
*'  for  denying  eternal,  personal,  unconditional  election  and 
close  communion,"^  And  with  him  were  set  off  seventy 
members  of  the  church,  whose  faith  and  sympathy  were 
with  their  pastor.  Hearing  of  Robinson  as  a  Free  Bap- 
tist minister,  he  was  addressed  as  above  stated  ;  and,  as 
above  stated,  did  Robinson  find  Carter  and  his  brethren. 
A  mutual  interchange  of  views  soon  showed  that  they 
*  Religious  Informer,  Vol.  iv.,  No.  6,  p.  81. 


1823.]  WHEELOCK   QUARTERLY  MEETING.  381 

were  one  in  doctrine,  and  Robinson,  in  behalf  of  the  Free- 
will Baptists,  gave  him  the  hand  of  fellowship.  Several 
meetings  were  held,  and  a  church  of  sixty  members  was 
organized,  which  united  with  the  Huntington  Quarterly 
Meeting  in  June. 

In  June  a  revival  commenced  in  Lyndon,  under  the 
labors  of  Daniel  Quimby,  and  continued  for  a  year,  ex- 
tending into  other  towns.  The  February  following,  Jon- 
athan Woodman  wrote  thus  to  the  Religious  Informer : 
"  I  came  here  last  August,  with  very  strong  impressions 
of  mind,  attended  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  found  it  in 
a  mangled  condition  ;  but  the  brethren  had  a  mind  to  work, 
and  the  Lord  blessed  our  labors.  The  work  soon  broke 
forth  in  Sutton,  and  spread  in  a  most  glorious  manner. 
Meetings  were  held  in  every  part  of  the  town,  and  no 
house  was  large  enough  to  contain  the  people.  Four  or 
five  were  often  converted  in  a  meeting,  and  sometimes 
seven  or  eight.  The  work  continued  till  almost  all  the 
young  people  were  converted,  and  many  in  more  advanc- 
ed life.  It  spread  into  Burke,  Sheffield,  and  Wheelock, 
and  has  been  as  powerful  in  each  of  these  towns  as  in 
Sutton.  Not  far  from  four  hundred  have  professed  faith 
in  Christ  since  last  August,  and  the  work  is  still  going 
on ;  all  glory  to  God.  Eld.  Quimby  has  baptized  about 
eighty,  I  have  baptized  between  sixty  and  seventy,  and 
Eld.  Nelson  a  number  more.  I  never  saw  the  need  of 
laborers  in  any  place  so  much  as  in  this.  I  have  ten 
calls  where  I  can  supply  but  one.  Eld.  Quimby  has  worn 
himself  down  with  continued  preaching,  and  is  now  under 
the  doctor's  care." 

The  Wheelock  Quarterly  Meeting  had  not  seen  such 
prosperous  days  for  years,  if  ever  before.  The  return  of 
Rev.  Benjamin  Page  from  the  Christian  order,  to  active 
ministerial  service,  was  regarded  as  of  great  influence  in 
preparing  the  way  for  this  gracious  work.  He  made  a 
confession  at  the  January  Quarterly  Meeting,  full  and 
satisfactory,  and  then  preached  to  a  deeply  interested  audi- 


382  VERMONT   AND   CANADA  EAST.  [1824. 

tory.  The  ministers  were  inspired  with  new  life,  and 
those  present — Quimby,  Norris,  Woodworth,  Bugby,  Nel- 
son and  Powers — received  him  with  strong  affection,  and 
returned  to  their  fields  of  labor  greatly  encouraged. 

At  that  same  meeting,  Joshua  Quinby  from  Lisbon, 
N.  H.,  stated  that  he  had  recently  visited  the  Indian 
Stream  settlement,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Connecticut 
river,  and  such  was  the  encouragement  that  he  had  ap- 
pointed a  general  meeting  on  the  second.  Saturday  and 
Sunday  in  March.  His  appeal  for  help  was  effectual, 
and  six  or  eight  volunteered  to  go.  The  meeting  was 
successful,  a  revival  followed,  and  churches  were  organized 
in  Canaan,  the  northeast  town  in  the  State,  and  across 
the  river  in  Stewartstown,  the  extreme  northern  settlement 
in  New  Hampshire. 

At  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Corinth,  October  4th  and  5th, 
"  the  reports  came  in  truly  refreshing."  On  the  Sabbath 
nearly  three  thousand  assembled  for  worship,  and  the 
sermons  of  John  Buzzell  and  Charles  Bowles  were  accom- 
panied with  much  of  the  Divine  power.  The  Elders' 
Conference  on  Monday  was  one  of  great  harmony,  but  the 
joys  of  that  annual  feast  were  marred  by  the  development 
of  an  inclination  among  some  of  the  churches  of  the 
Yearly  Meeting  towards  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
denomination,  and  of  a  desire  to  fraternize  with  that  body. 
On  comparing  doctrines,  this  was  found  to  be  inexpedient, 
and  the  proposition  was  no  longer  entertained.  But  the 
Hatley  church  was  induced  to  leave  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
hj  one  "  John  Orcutt,  a  preacher  of  the  Christian  order," 
who  came  into  town  two  years  before,  and  united  with  it. 
A  smaU  minority  adhered  to  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  led 
by  Philip  Flanders,  son  of  the  first  Christian  in  town,^  and 
were  sustained  by  the  Quarterly  Meeting. 

The  great  revival  in  the  Wheelock  Quarterly  Meeting 
continued  far  into  the  year  1 824,  and  in  Enosburg  and 
adjoining  towns,  where  Charles  Bowles  was  untiring  in 

^  iSee  page  259. 


1825.]  BUBBANK  AND  MAKSON.  883 

his  labors,  the  gracious  work  was  advancing,  till  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  confessed  the  pardoning  mercy  of  God  in 
their  salvation. 

Several  persons  in  Canada  sent  a  petition  to  John  Buz- 
zell,  of  Maine,  for  some  preacher  to  visit  them,  and  the  Par- 
sonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting  sent  Samuel  Burbank  and 
Benjamin  S.  Manson  to  their  aid.  Early  in  the  year 
1825  they  passed  through  northern  Vermont,  attending  a 
Quarterly  Meeting  at  Wheelock  Hollow,  and,  entering 
the  province,  they  were  regarded  with  suspicion,  so  re- 
peatedly had  the  people  been  imposed  upon  by  travellers 
from  the  States.  They  travelled  all  day  through  a  severe 
snow  storm,  around  Lake  Memphremagog,  not  because 
they  chose  to  do  so,  but  because  no  family  would  enter- 
tain them.  It  was  nine  o'clock  at  night  before  they  could 
find  lodgings,  and  the  next  day  they  plodded  their  weary 
way  along  through  a  light  snow  nearly  three  feet  deep, 
and  reached  the  house  of  one  of  the  petitioners  in  Farn- 
ham,  forty  miles  west  of  any  Freewill  Baptist  church  yet 
in  Canada.  And  here,  even,  they  met  with  a  cold  recep- 
tion, as  only  two  professed  ministers  had  visited  the  set- 
tlement before  them,  both  of  whom  proved  to  be  thieves. 
But  when  the  people  were  shown  their  own  petition  for 
help,  and  the  letter  of  commendation  from  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  all  suspicions  were  removed,  and  their  best, 
accommodations  were  not  sufficiently  good.  Even  the 
horse  they  fed  with  wheat,  saying  it  was  better  than  oats. 

For  two  weeks  these  servants  of  the  Most  High  held 
meetings  every  day  and  evening  ;  the  few  Christians  then 
there  were  strengthened,  backsliders  were  reclaimed,  and 
sinners  were  converted.  Their  stay  was  now  short,  but 
Manson  returned  in  June,  and  for  two  months  his  labors 
were  greatly  blessed.  A  church  organization  and  the  or- 
dinances of  the  gospel  were  desired,  but  no  one  was 
authorized  to  attend  to  them.  The  people  besought  Man- 
son  to  go  to  Maine,  and  attend  the  August  Quarterly 
Meeting,  with  a  request  from  them  for  his  ordination, 


384  VERMONT  AND    CANADA  EAST.  [1825. 

and  lie  did  so.  The  request  was  granted,  and  Jolm  Ste- 
vens accompanied  him  on  his  return,  with  a  collection  of 
seven  dollars  to  aid  them  on  their  journey,  and  as  a  com- 
pensation for  their  services.  They  had  never  seen  a 
church  organized,  but  they  ventured  to  embody  one  in 
September,  the  first  in  that  part  of  the  province.  Alan- 
son  Kilborn  of  Dunham,  a  local  preacher  with  the  English 
Methodists,  united  with  the  church,  and  was  soon  after 
ordained.  The  same  year  Rev.  Nathaniel  Ewer,  from 
Vermont,  moved  into  that  part  of  the  province,  and  the 
interest  commenced  at  Farnham  was  a  permanent  one, 
and  two  years  after  was  greatly  strengthened  by  a  union 
with  the  churches  in  northwestern  Vermont. 

Late  in  the  autumn,  Manson,  in  want  of  additional 
clothing  w^hich  he  had  no  means  of  getting,  left  for  Maine, 
with  ten  Canadian  coppers  in  his  pocket.  Did  it  comport 
with  the  design  of  this  history,  chapters  might  be  "s^Titten, 
detailing  the  personal  sacrifices  and  privations  of  the  ear- 
ly ministry,  in  establishing  and  sustaining  the  cause  of 
Christ.  But  those  scenes  must  be  reserved  till  "  the  books 
are  opened,"  when  every  man  will  be  rewarded,  not  only 
for  the  labor  performed,  but  according  to  the  circumstances 
under  which  it  was  done. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  in  Tunbridge  was  one  of  unparal- 
leled interest.  Sa^vyer  of  Maine,  and  White  from  Rhode 
Island,  preached  on  the  Sabbath,  and  Morse  from  New 
Hampshire  says,  "A  more  solemn  day  I  have  not  wit- 
nessed for  many  years.  Monday  morning  we  went  to  the 
meeting  house  at  9  o'clock,  and  there  was  no  intermission 
till  after  sunset ;  in  which  time  fourteen  were  hopefully 
converted.  A  meeting  in  the  evening  continued  till  11 
o'clock,  and  the  reformation  spread  into  Strafibrd  and 
other  towns,  till  three  hundred  indulged  a  saving  hope  in 
Christ." 

The  next  year  Morse  went  to  Montpelier,  where  he 
found  the  remnants  of  three  churches,  and  commenced  la- 
bor with  the  central  one.     Opposition  was  strong,  but  the 


1828.]  STANSTEAD    QUAKTERLY   MEETING.  385 

Lord  worked  witli  him,  and  several  were  converted. 
These,  with  such  as  came  from  the  old  churches,  united 
in  a  new  organization,  and,  after  two  months,  he  left 
them  a  promising  church  of  thirty-five  members.  Samuel 
Haseltine,  from  New  Hampshire,  attended  sixty  meetings 
in  the  northwest  part  of  the  State,  and  organized  a  church 
at  St.  Albans.  Revivals  were  also  enjoyed  in  Dover, 
Worcester,  Cabot,  Waterford,  and  Fairfield. 

Some  of  the  churches  in  northwestern  Vermont  and  in 
Canada  were  deficient  in  order,  discipline,  and  the  means 
of  grace.  A  general  meeting  was  held  in  1827,  a  Circu- 
lar Letter  addressed  to  the  churches,  and  Charles  Bowles 
was  appointed  to  bear  it  to  them,  and  set  in  order  the 
things  that  were  wanting.  It  was  a  judicious  appoint- 
ment, for  he  not  only  had  the  confidence  of  the  churches, 
but  had  gathered  several  of  them,  and  had  dropped  the 
tear  of  sympathy  with  his  brethren  in  adversity,  and  re- 
joiced with  them  in  prosperity.  He  performed  the  circuit 
of  his  mission,  preached  in  all  the  churches,  repeatedly  in 
some  of  them,  and  saw  every  one  more  or  less  revived. 
A  Quarterly  Meeting  was  proposed,  and,  while  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  was  holding  its  first  session  in  Tunbridge, 
in  the  central  part  of  the  State,  Revs.  Perley  Hall,  Alan- 
son  Kilborn  and  Nathaniel  Ewer,  with  other  delegates 
from  the  churches,  met  at  St.  Armand  in  Canada,  and 
organized  the  Enosburg  Quarterly  Meeting.  It  then  con- 
sisted of  nine  churches — St.  Armand,  Broome,  and  Farn- 
ham,  in  Canada,  and  East  Franklin,  First  and  Second 
Enosburg,  Bakersfield,  Fairfield,  and  Cambridge,  in  Ver- 
mont— and  three  others  united  within  the  next  five  months. 

The  churches  in  Canada  belonging  to  the  Wheelock 
Quarterly  Meeting  were  noAV  dismissed,  and  February  2dj 
1828,  they  organized  as  the  Stanstead  Quarterly  Meeting. 
They  were  seven  in  number,  viz..  First,  Second,  and 
Third  Stanstead,  Barnston,  Compton,  Hatley,  and  Durham, 
embracing  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  members, 
with  Abiel  Moiilton,  and  probably  "Willard  Bartlett  and 
33 


B86  VERMONT   AND    CANADA   EAST.  [1828, 

Moses  Norris,  as  ministers.  All  the  churclies  were  more 
or  less  revived  during  the  year. 

Martha  N.  Spaulding  of  Smithfield,  Rhode  Island,  was 
now  preaching  in  the  Stanstead  and  Wheelock  Quarterly- 
Meetings,  and  continued  her  labors  there  for  more  than  •  a 
year ;  her  congregations  were  large,  and  quite  a  number 
were  converted. 

The  Farnham  church  was  now  in  trouble,  and  the  great 
destitution  of  gospel  laborers  induced  a  few  ministers  and 
church  clerks  to  petition  their  brethren  in  Maine  for  addi- 
tional help.  By  appointment  from  the  Parsonsfield  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  John  Stevens  again  went  to  Canada,  at- 
tended the  Enosburg  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Dunham, 
adjusted  the  difficulty,  and  left  with  more  encouraging 
prospects  before  the  churches. 

Jonathan  Woodman  having  closed  his  services  as  chap- 
lain of  the  Vermont  Legislature,  returned  to  the  Wheelock 
Quarterly  Meeting  in  the  fall,  where  his  labors  were  again 
eminently  useful.  About  one  hundred  were  added  to  the 
several  churches,  and  general  prosperity  was  enjoyed. 

A  growing  conviction  that  more  should  be  done  for  the 
support  of  the  ministry  was  now  beginning  to  manifest  it- 
self in  various  ways.  One  of  them  was  the  formation  of 
"  The  Vermont  Freewill  Baptist  Society  for  the  Support 
of  the  Gospel."  It  assumed  corporate  powers  under  a 
general  act,  and  the  payment  of  five  dollars  constituted  the 
person  a  member.  It  was  not  sufficiently  specific  and 
local  for  practical  purposes,  but  it  Avas  useful  in  preparing 
the  way  for  more  efficient  means. 

The  public  mind  was  becoming  excited  and  divided  on 
the  question  of  Masonry,  and  it  came  vip  at  the  Yearly 
Meeting  in  East  Randolph,  by  reference  from  one  of  the 
churches.  The  discussion  soon  became  earnest,  and  David 
Marks,  who  was  present  on  his  way  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence in  New  Hampshire,  could  not  keep  silence.  He  had 
been  travelling  amidst  the  Morgan  developments  and  ex- 
citements in  New  York,  and  was  every  way  prepared  for 


1829.3  DANIEL    QUIMBT's    MEETING   HOUSE.  387 

a,  terrible  discharge  of  his  moral  batteries.  For  an  hour 
did  he  stand  before  that  Conference,  exposing  the  system 
with  a  masterly  hand,  and  assailing  it  in  the  full  strength 
and  severity  of  his  scathing  denunciations.  But  little  far- 
ther was  said  in  defence  of  Masonry. 

Rev.  Avery  Moulton  of  Stanstead,  Canada  East,  died 
July  14th,  aged  58.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  mind,  de- 
termined purpose,  and  sacrificing  efforts.  These  were 
shown  in  planting  and  cherishing  the  first  Freewill  Baptist 
churches  in  Canada.  His  continued  labors  and  great  ex- 
posures brought  on  rheumatism  of  the  severest  type  ;  so 
that  his  limbs  became  stifiened  and  disjointed,  and  for  five 
years  he  could  walk  only  with  crutches,  and  preach  only 
in  a  sitting  posture.  But  he  continued  faithful ;  and,  dur- 
ing his  last  illness,  while  pierced  with  the  most  excruciat- 
ing pain,  his  resignation  and  peaceful  trust  showed  what 
support  religion  could  afibrd. 

Rev.  Thomas  M.  Jackson,  of  Sheffield,  was  cut  down 
in  the  prime  of  life,  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  He  was 
greatly  beloved,  and  close  was  his  walk  with  God.  When 
other  medical  aid  was  proposed,  he  said,  "  No,  let  me  die." 
And  his  request  was  granted  September  27th. 

In  1829  the  Huntington  Quarterly  Meeting  experienced 
a  dark  night  of  adversity.  The  churches  were  low  and 
divided  ;  the  ministers,  few  and  disheartened.  But  many 
came  out  of  the  trial,  refined  and  strengthened.  The 
Enosburg  Qiiarterly  Meeting  was  increasing  in  prosperity. 
Extra  sessions  were  held,  and  two  churches  in  Canada — 
Bolton  and  Hemmingford — were  added.  At  the  latter 
Place,  Perley  Hall  labored  extensively,  and  baptized  sev- 
enteen at  one  time  and  nineteen  at  another. 

Daniel  Quimby  had  preached  in  Lyndon  a  dozen  years 
without  compensation,  and  this  year  assumed  the  entire 
responsibility  of  building  a  meeting  house.  The  society 
afterwards  took  a  part  of  the  burden  from  his  hands,  but 
he  bore  much  of  it  till  the  day  of  his  death. 


SS8  VERMONT   AND    CANADA   EAST.  [1829. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1820,  Middlesex,  and  Wood- 
"bury ;  '21,  Jericho,  Morgan,  Roxbury,  Starksborough,  and 
Windsor ;  and  Durham,  Canada  ;  '22,  Croton,  and  Rich- 
mond ;  '23,  Canaan,  and  Enosburg ;  '24,  Woodworth  ; 
'25,  Farnham,  and  St.  Ai-mand,  Canada;  '26,  Bakers- 
field,  and  St.  Albans  ;  and  Dunham,  Canada  ;  '27,  South 
Enosburg,  and  Worcester  ;  '28,  Leverett ;  and  Bolton, 
Canada  ;  '29,  Newport,  and  Westbury,  Canada. 

Ordinations.  In  1820,  Leland  Huntley,  Samuel  Lord, 
and  George  W.  Pownal ;  '21,  Edward  E.  Dodge,  Calvin 
Huntley,  James  Morgan,  Dexter  Smith,  and  Josiah  Weth- 
erbee  ;  '22,  William  Davidson,  Ziba  Pope,  and  Sylvanus 
Robinson  ;  '23,  Perley  Hall ;  '24,  Jonas  Allen,  Thomas 
M.  Jackson,  and  Porter  Thomas ;  '25,  Nathaniel  Ewer, 
and  Erastus  Harvey  ;  '2Q,  Harley  Burr,  Edward  Fay, 
John  Hilliard,  Alanson  Kilborn,  and  Nathaniel  Perry ; 
'27,  Sewell  FuUom,  Stephen  Leavitt,  and  Nathan  Muxley  ; 
'28,  Benjamin  Chatterton  ;  and  Abiel  Moulton,  Canada  ; 
'29,  Samuel  Dennett,  Orange  Dike,  and  Simeon  Hasel- 
tine  ;  and  Simeon  Alden,  and  James  Rockwell,  Canada. 

Deaths.  In  1824,  Paul  Holbrook  ;  '26,  Samuel  Web- 
ster; '27,  Ziba  Woodworth  ;  '28,  Thomas  M.  Jackson  J 
and  Avery  Moulton,  Canada. 


1820.]  GREAT   REVIVAL   INTEREST.  389 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

RHODE  ISLAND,  MASSACHUSETTS,  AND 
CONNECTICUT, 

1820—1830. 

Great  Reyival  Interest — Churcli  at  Greenville — Ray  Potter  —  Rhode 
Island  Quarterly  Meeting — Daniel  Green — Eli  Towne — Marriage  of 
Miss  Danforth — Josiah  Graves  —  Pawtucket — Rehoboth.  Church — 
Quarterly  Meeting — ^Reuben  Allen — Death  of  Graves — Zalmon  Tobey 
— The  Magazine — Death  of  Thornton — Lowell,  Mass. — Allen  Bro^wn 
— ^Middleborough,  Mass. — Itinerancy — Middletown,  Conn. — Martin 
Cheney — Olneyville  —  Pawtucket— Churches  Organized — Ordinations 
f— Deaths. 

At  the  commencement  of  1820,  the  spirit  of  revival  was 
universal  in  Rhode  Island.  Clarissa  H.  Danforth  was 
fully  devoted  to  the  work,  preaching  to  large  audiences 
several  times  a  week,  and  in  the  July  number  of  the  In- 
former, she  says,  "  Multitudes  are  flocking  to  Christ." 
AH  denominations  shared  in  the  work,  and  a  correspon- 
dent of  the  Christian  Herald  estimates  the  number  of  con- 
versions in  Providence,  Bristol  and  Newport,  at  five  hun- 
dred each.  More  than  thirty  students  in  Bro"v^n  Uni- 
versity became  hopefully  pious,  and  the  glorious  work 
continued  till  the  whole  number  of  conversions  in  the  State 
at  the  close  of  the  year,  was  believed  to  be,  at  least,  three 
thousand. 

A  brighter  day  was  now  opening  upon  the  Freewill 
Baptist  interests  in  this  State.  For  eight  years  the  Bur- 
rillville  church  had  stood  as  a  lone  star  of  its  kind,  but 
it  was  to  stand  thus  no  longer.  The  second  church  was 
organized  at  Greenville,  in  the  town  of  Smithfield,  where 
33* 


390  RHODE   ISLAND,   ETC.  [1821. 

the  great  revival  commenced  the  year  before.  Revs. 
Joseph  White  and  Daniel  Quimby  were  present,  and  in 
five  months  it  numbered  one  hundred  and  twenty  mem- 
bers, with  branches  in  Gloucester  and  Mendon,  Mass. 

Ray  Potter  had  been  ordained  by  the  Six  Principle 
Baptists,  and  went  to  Pawtucket  in  1820,  where  a  Free- 
will Baptist  church  was  organized,  with  which  he  united. 
Further  particulars  may  be  learned  from  his  letter  of  May 
19th,  1821,  published  in  the  Religious  Informer.  He 
says,  "  A  year  ago  there  were  only  two  or  three  brethren 
here  who  seemed  determined  to  contend  for  the  liberty  of 
the  gospel  in  its  primitive  likeness.  They  agreed  to  meet 
and  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  if  any  of  the  un- 
converted should  come  in,  to  declare  that  salvation  was 
free  for  all,  without  money  and  without  price.  The  good 
Shepherd  blessed  their  endeavors,  the  house  was  soon  fill- 
■ed  with  hearers,  and  some  seemed  to  be  inquiring  the 
way  to  Zion.  After  much  entreaty  I  sent  an  appoint- 
ment, and  the  first  time  I  preached  a  number  were  awak- 
ened. My  labors  were  continued  amidst  revival  interest 
and  much  persecution,  till  we  now  have  a  church  of  be- 
tween sixty  and  seventy  members.  A  thousand  dollars 
towards  a  house  of  worship  have  been  raised,  and  oiir 
prospects  are  encouraging. 

"Bro.  Joseph  White  is  laboring  arduously  through 
Burrillville,  Gloucester,  Smithfield,  Scituate,  &c.  He  in- 
formed me  the  other  day  that  there  was  a  prospect  that 
three  meeting  houses  would  be  soon  erected  in  that  part 
of  the  vineyard.  Bro.  Henry  Tatem  is  preaching  a  free 
gospel  in  Cranston,  and  round  about  more  southerly. 
Sister  Clarissa  H.  Danforth  has  been  an  instrument  in 
the  hands  of  God,  of  doing  much  good  in  this  country." 

The  three  churches  above  named  met,  by  delegation,  at 
Burrillville,  October  13th,  and  organized  the  Rhode  Island 
Quarterly  Meeting.  Eleven  ministers  were  present,  seven 
of  whom  were  Freewill  Baptists,  including  Timothy  Morse 
from  New  Hampshire,  Reuben  Allen  from  Vermont,  and 


1822.]  JOSIAH   GRAVES.  391 

Benjamin  Tollman  from  Massachusetts.  White  was 
chosen  Moderator,  and  Potter  Clerk,  and  the  report  says, 
"  It  was  a  solemn,  joyful,  heavenly  time  through  the 
meeting."  ^  The  Pawtucket  church  requested  the  ordina- 
tion of  Daniel  Green,  which  took  place  on  the  second  day, 
in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people,  it  heing  the 
Sahbath.  Allen  preached  the  sermon,  and  it  was  the 
first  Freewill  Baptist  ordination  in  the  State. 

Eli  Towne,  immediately  after  his  ordination  at  the  New 
Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting,  in  1822,  came  to  Rhode  Island, 
where  his  labors  were  greatly  blessed.  His  great  zeal  and 
ardent  temperament  carried  him,  on  some  occasions,  far 
above  these  material  regions.  He  preached  at  the  Au- 
gust Quarterly  Meeting  in  Gloucester,  and  the  Rhode  Island 
Pulpit  says,  "  He  there  made  one  of  the  most  thrilling 
and  startling  addresses  that  had  ever  been  heard  in  that 
part  of  the  country.  It  is  even  now  a  frequent  topic  of 
remark,  and  is  evidently  a  cherished  recollection  with 
those  of  his  hearers  who  still  survive." 

White  was  now  called  to  Maine  by  the  last  sickness  of 
his  companion,  and,  at  his  request,  Zachariah  Jordan, 
from  that  State,  took  his  place.  He  returned  to  his  field 
of  labor  the  next  May,  a  bereaved  and  lonely  man.  The 
churches  were  acquiring  strength  and  permanence,  though 
revivals  were  less  extensive  than  in  former  years. 

About  this  time  Miss  Danforth  closed  her  labors  in 
Rhode  Island,  by  uniting  in  marriage  with  Danforth  Rich- 
mond, a  gentleman  of  fortune  in  Connecticut.  They  soon 
removed  to  Western  New  York,  after  which  she  preached 
only  occasionally. 

This  year  commenced  an  acquaintance  with  a  free 
church  in  Middletown,  Conn.,  and  its  pastor.  Rev.  Josiah 
Graves.  For  sixteen  years  Mr.  Graves  had  been  an  ac- 
ceptable preacher  as  a  Calvinistic  Baptist.  "  In  1821  he 
became  convinced  that  the  practice  of  restricted  commun- 

'  Religious  Informer,  December,  1821,  p.  185. 


392  RHODE   ISLAND,    ETC.  [1822. 

ion  was  unscriptural,  and  boldly  commenced  advocating 
free  communion  with  all  acknowledged  Christians.  He 
also  proclaimed  free  salvation.  Considerable  excitement 
was  occasioned  by  his  change  of  sentiments,  which  re- 
sulted in  his  exclusion  from  the  church."  ^  Others  im- 
mediately withdrew,  and  an  independent  church  was 
organized. 

In  September,  1822,  David  Marks  visited  Connecticut, 
the  land  of  his  parents  and  distant  relatives.  Mrs.  Graves 
was  a  sister  to  his  mother,  and,  as  he  preached  to  that 
little  church,  for  the  first  time  did  the  pastor  hear  his  sen- 
timents taught  by  another.  He  explained  to  them  the 
doctrines  and  usages  of  the  Freewill  Baptists,  and  intro- 
duced the  Religious  Informer.  Soon  after  this.  Rev.  Eli 
Towne  was  returning  to  Maryland,  and,  in  Connecticut 
his  saddle  bags  were  stolen.  Among  other  things  left  in 
the  woods  as  worthless  to  the  thief,  were  several  numbers 
of  Buzzell's  Magazine.  These  fell  into  the  hands  of 
Graves,  and  thus  was  opened  a  new  source  of  information 
concerning  the  people  in  whom  he  was  now  deeply  inter- 
ested. 

Under  date,  of  December  28th,  he  wrote  thus  to  the 
Informer  :  "  I  do  not  recollect  that  I  had  ever  heard  the 
name  Freewill  Baptist  till  I  had  been  bearing  down  against 
what  is  termed  unconditional  election  and  reprobation. 
After  that  a  certain  lady  from  Boston  said,  '  Sir,  you  are 
a  Freewill  Baptist.'  I  never  saw  one,  said  I.  '  Well,' 
said  she,  '  you  preach  like  them.'  Now,  sir,  I  believe 
that  I  never  saw  a  Freewill  Baptist,  or  read  any  of  their 
writings  until  a  little  number  of  us,  about  twelve  persons, 
put  our  lives  in  our  hands,  and  came  out  in  1821,  and 
constituted  the  first  Freewill  Baptist  church  in  Connecti- 
cut. We  have  had  some  additions,  and  the  summer  past 
I  have  baptized  four ;  but  the  opposition  we  met  with 
from  difierent  sects,  I  would  fain  conceal  at  this  time." 
A  personal  acquaintance  was  sought  with  the  ministers 
2  Rhode  Island  Pulpit,  p.  56. 


1823.]  BEHOBOTH  CHURCH.  393 

of  tlie  Rhode  Island  Quarterly  Meeting,  and,  after  mutual 
visits.  Graves  and  his  church  united  Avith  that  body. 

In  November  Timothy  Morse  went  to  PaAvtucket,  and 
found  the  church  rent  in  twain,  with  a  minister  at  the 
head  of  each  contending  faction.  Daniel  Green  had  his 
sympathy,  was  in  union  with  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and 
occupied  the  house  of  worship.  Ray  Potter  had  with  him 
a  majority  of  the  church  ;  but  his  course  of  action  and 
heretical  doctrines  resulted  in  his  separation  from  the 
Quarterly  Meeting,  at  the  January  session,  1823.  From 
that  time  a  general  solemnity  pervaded  the  meetings  in 
Pawtucket,  which  were  held  "  every  night,  without  regard 
to  the  weather  ;"  and  for  three  weeks  there  was  about  one 
conversion  daily. 

An  afternoon  prayer  meeting  was  appointed,  the  young 
people  attended  in  large  numbers,  and  soon  the  power  of  God 
came  down,  and  several  of  them  called  for  mercy,  in  the 
agony  of  lost  souls.  Says  Morse,  "  Elder  Allen  and  myself 
were  present.  The  meeting  began  about  1  o'clock,  most  of 
the  time  was  spent  in  prayer,  and  at  5  o'clock,  eight  had 
found  salvation  in  Christ.  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest ! 
I  can  truly  say  I  never  enjoyed  such  a  day  before." 
Forty  united  with  the  church  during  the  next  two  months. 

While  the  Lord  was  thus  visiting  his  people  in  Paw- 
tucket, he  was  also  blessing  the  labors  of  Allen  and  Swett 
in  Rehoboth  and  Attleborough,  towns  adjoining  in  Massa- 
chusetts. Morse  spent  most  of  the  summer  there,  and  in 
August  the  old  Rehoboth  church  of  eighty  members,  unit- 
ed with  the  Quarterly  Meeting.  This  church  had  an  ear- 
lier origin  than  any  other  in  the  denomination.  It  was 
organized  in  1777,  as  one  of  the  Separate,  or  New  Light, 
churches  that  arose  from  the  evangelical  preaching  of 
Whitefield.  Several  of  these  churches  became  Baptists, 
and  united  as  the  "  Groton  Union  Conference,"  practising 
free  communion.  When  many  of  thein  united  with  the 
Calvinistic  Baptists,  the  Rehoboth  church  stood  indepen- 


394  RHODE   ISLAKD,    ETC.  [1826. 

dent,  sustaining  its  visibility  under  different  pastors,  and 
no  pastors,  till  1814,  when  Rev.  Timothy  Morse  labored 
successfully  there  for  a  season  ;  after  which  its  ministers, 
when  it  had  any,  were  generally  Freewill  Baptists. 

The  October  Quarterly  Meeting  was  held  at  Burrill- 
ville,  where  Colby  began  his  work  in  Rhode  Island,  eleven 
years  before.  From  nine  members  the  church  had  now 
increased  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  ;  and  six  other  churches 
had  united  with  it  in  Quarterly  Meeting,  with  an  aggre- 
gate membership  of  544.  The  ordained  ministers  were 
White,  Allen,  Green  and  Williams  ;  unordained,  Ahab 
Reed,  Jacob  W.  Darling,  Smith  Fairfield,  Abel  Thornton 
and  Horatio  N.  Loring.  Susan  Humes,  of  Thompson, 
Conn.,  a  town  adjoining  Burrillville,  had  been  preaching 
for  two  years,  and  she  now  removed  her  church  relations 
from  the  Calvinistic,  to  the  Freewill,  Baptists,  and  the  El- 
ders' Conference  approbated  "  the  public  improvement  of 
her  gift."  She  died  in  Providence  two  years  after. 
Allen  had  been  no  more  diligent  than  successful,  and  says 
in  the  Informer,  "  Two  years  ago,  in  the  providence  of 
God,  I  was  permitted  to  come  into  this  part  of  the  land. 
I  have  done  but  little,  yet  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
some  churches  gathered,  and  of  baptizing  one  hundred  and 
twenty ;  eighty  within  the  last  eight  months." 

The  church  in  Foster,  gathered  by  Rev.  Daniel  Wil- 
liams, united  with  the  Quarterly  Meeting  the  next  year ; 
but  the  death  of  Rev.  Josiah  Graves  of  Middletown,  in 
1825,  left  the  church  in  Connecticut  without  a  pastor  for 
three  years.  He  died  July  24th,  aged  50.  This  death, 
with  the  declining  health  of  White  and  Thornton  the  next 
year,  cast  a  gloom  over  the  prospects  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  ;  but  Rev.  Zalmon  Tobey,  of  classical  education 
and  extensive  influence,  was  regarded  as  an  important 
accession  to  the  ministry.  For  several  years  he  had  been 
a  worthy  preacher  in  Providence,  had  experienced  many 
trials  with  the  Calvinists,  because  of  his  free  principles, 


1828.]  MAGAZINE.  395 

and  now,  1826,  became  identified  with  the  Freewill  Bap- 
tists. His  services  as  a  writer  were  scarcely  less  valuable 
than  as  preacher. 

A  few  ministers  felt  the  need  of  a  periodical  in  this 
locality,  and  agreed  to  publish  a  quarterly,  of  thirty-two 
pages,  to  be  called  "  The  Freewill  Baptist  Magazine,"  un- 
der the  editorial  direction  of  Zalmon  Tobey.  The  first 
number  was  issued  in  May,  the  same  month  with  the  first 
number  of  the  Morning  Star,  in  Maine.  The  publishers 
of  neither  work  knew  the  design  of  the  others  ;  and,  in 
most  respects,  the  two  publications  were  entirely  dissim- 
ilar in  their  object.  The  conductors  of  the  Magazine  pro- 
posed "  to  commit  the  management  of  it  entirely  to  the 
Quarterly  Meeting ;"  but  the  Conference  declined  the 
proposition,  yet  "unanimously  voted  that  we  approbate 
the  Magazine,  and  will  use  our  exertions  to  give  it  exten- 
sive circulation."  The  Quartei'ly  Meeting,  however,  did 
assume  the  publication  of  it  at  the  close  of  the  first  year, 
with  Zalmon  Tobey,  Reuben  Allen,  Daniel  Green,  Job 
Armstrong,  and  Abel  Thornton,  as  a  Publishing  Commit- 
tee. All  profits  were  to  be  appropriated  to  religious  pur- 
poses. After  two  years  the  Magazine  was  published 
monthly,  with  24  pages,  at  one  dollar  in  advance,  till  May, 
1830,  when  it  was  discontinued. 

Rev.  Abel  Thornton  died  October  14th,  1827.  His 
life  was  short  but  earnest,  having  lived  pnly  28  years. 
He  was  one  year  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and 
repeated  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs  finally  closed  his  days. 
While  breathing  his  last,  he  triumphantly  said,  "  Bless 
the  Lord,  I  am  crossing  the  narrow  stream."  His  journal 
was  published  by  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in  a  small  octavo 
volume  of  132  pages. 

Lowell,  Mass.,  was  now  a  growing  place,  and  a  few 
Freewill  Baptist  families  established  a  weekly  prayer 
meeting  at  the  house  of  Josiah  Seavy.  In  April,  1828, 
Hiram  Stevens  commenced  preaching  there  ;  a  school 
house  was  obtained,  but  the  attendance  was  small  and  the 


396  RHODE   ISLAND,   ETC.  [1828. 

meeting  often  disturbed.  A  church  of  fifteen  members  was 
organized,  and  after  a  few  years  of  alternate  prosperity 
and  adversity,  dissensions  crept  in,  and  the  organization 
was  lost. 

At  the  January  session  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  in 
Pawtucket,  Tobey  made  a  long  and  interesting  report  of 
his  mission  to  Vermont,  as  delegate  to  the  Yearly  Meeting 
and  General  Conference.  It  was  his  first  association  with 
Freewill  Baptists  beyond  the  limits  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
he  was  greatly  pleased  with  the  extended  acquaintance. 
He  also,  in  behalf  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  gave  the 
hand  of  fellowship  to  Rev.  Allen  Brown  of  Providence, 
accompanied  by  "a  short  but  pathetic  address."  Brown 
had  left  the  Calvinistic  Baptists,  entertaining  more  liberal 
views  on  the  atonement  and  communion.  Sermons  were 
preached  by  Martin  Cheney,  Ebenezer  Scales,  Allen 
Brown,  and  Zalmon  Tobey  ;  and  Levi  Chase  was  ordain- 
ed. At  the  close  of  the  afternoon  service  on  the  Sabbath, 
Christians  of  different  denominations  came  to  the  Lord's 
table,  and  the  meeting  was  one  of  unusual  interest. 

Horatio  N.  Loringwas  now  laboring  at  Middleborough, 
Mass.,  twenty-five  miles  east  of  Providence,  where  sixty 
were  converted  and  a  church  organized.  The  Quarterly 
Meeting  was  held  therein  August,  and  arrangements  were 
then  made  for  the  support  of  an  itinerant  minister,  and 
John  M.  Yearnshaw  received  the  appointment.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  profits  of  the  Magazine,  and  the  sale  of  Thorn- 
ton's Life,  for  the  support  of  this  mission,  subscriptions 
were  opened  and  the  required  amount  secured.  This  itin- 
erancy continued  for  a  year  or  two,  and  was  the  only 
means  of  sustaining  some  of  the  destitute  churches. 

The  church  in  Middletown,  Conn.,  after  the  death  of 
Graves,  was  left  without  preaching  or  pastoral  care.  No 
report  having  been  received  for  several  sessions,  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting  directed  Tobey  to  write  a  letter  of  condo- 
lence and  encouragement.  He  did  so,  and  about  the  same 
time  Rev.  Charles  Remington,  a  young  man  from  another 


1829.]  OLNETVILLE   CHURCH.  397 

denomination  became  its  pastor.  An  extra  session  of  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  convened  there  November  13th,  and 
Tobey  presented  the  prominent  characteristics  of  the  Free- 
will Baptists,  in  a  clear  and  nnobjectionable  sermon,  from 
the  text,  "  Can  there  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Naza- 
reth ?"  His  closing  exhortation  to  "  come  and  see,"  was 
very  powerful. 

The  church  in  Olneyville  was  organized  November  7th, 
1828.  In  that  village,  one  of  the  Providence  suburbs, 
there  lived,  eight  years  before,  a  young  man  of  careless 
habits  but  brilliant  talents.  In  the  pride  of  his  manly 
strength,  he  saw  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  an  irreligious 
life,  and  bowed  at  Jesus'  feet.  He  became  a  hopeful 
Christian,  was  baptized  by  Zalmon  Tobey,  and  united  with 
the  Second  Baptist  church  in  North  Providence,  Thus 
commenced  the  Christian  career  of  Martin  Cheney.  Feel- 
ing himself  called  to  preach,  and  being  encouraged  by 
others,  his  first  sermon  was  before  his  O'svn  church  Thanks- 
giving evening,  1823.  He  was  then  examined  by  the 
church,  and  found  to  be  anti-Calvinistic,  and  a  free  com- 
munionist.  The  pastor  said,  "  7/  Ae  ivas  a  Galvinist,  I 
should  think  he  was  called  to  preachy  and  I  don't  know  hut 
he  is  as  it  is,"  The  church  advised  him  to  tajse  a  letter  of 
dismission,  and  unite  with  a  church  entertaining  views 
similar  to  his  own.  He  did  so,  and  became  a  member 
of  the  Fourth  Baptist  church  in  North  Providence,  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  Tobey.  He  soon  commenced  preach- 
ing in  a  hall  at  Olneyville,  and  the  next  year  associated 
with  Zalmon  Tobey,  Allen  Brown,  Henry  Tatem  and  Ray 
Potter,  in  a  "  Union  Conference,"  and  by  them  was  or- 
dained April  24th,  1825.  Tobey  and  Brown  soon  became 
Freewill  Baptists,  and  the  church  at  Olneyville,  with  Che- 
ney its  pastor,  united  with  the  Quarterly  Meeting  about  a 
year  after  its  organization.  The  letter  requesting  admis- 
sion says,  "  The  church  consisted  of  eleven  members  at 
first.  Outward  circumstances  were  discouraging,  but  the 
Lord  was  with  us  ;  and,  to  the  praise  of  his  grace  be  it 
34 


398  EHODE   ISLAND,   ETC.  [1829. 

said,  at  each,  of  our  montlily  meetings  since  our  organiza- 
tion, he  has  added  more  or  less  to  our  number.  A  revival 
has  been  enjoyed  the  past  year,  in  which  sixty-one  have 
been  added  by  baptism,  and  fourteen  by  letter.  But  what 
is  best  of  all,  God  is  with  us  still,  and  that,  too,  in  a  most 
glorious  manner." 

Timothy  Morse,  on  his  way  to  Rhode  Island,  spent 
nearly  three  months  in  Salem,  Mass.,  endeavoring  to  bring 
the  remnants  of  a  Christian  church  into  gospel  order,  and 
thought  he  had  succeeded,  but  soon  after  his  departure,  it 
was  again  rent  by  Swedenborgian  influence.  The  last  of 
September  he  arrived  at  Pa^^'tucket,  and  though  sixty 
years  of  age,  united  with  the  pastor.  Rev.  Daniel  Green, 
in  a  series  of  meetings,  that  resulted  in  the  addition  of 
forty  to  the  church,  and  as  many  more  to  the  other  de- 
nominations. The  church  in  Smithfield  this  year  i*eceived 
an  addition  of  thirty,  and  most  of  the  other  churches  were 
revived. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1820,  Pawtucket,  and 
Smithfield;  '21,  Middletown,  Conn.;  '22,  Gloucester; 
and  Taunton,  and  Waterford,  Mass.  ;  '23,  Troy,  and 
Mendon,  Mass.  ;  '24,  Foster ;  '28,  Cranston,  and  Olney- 
ville  ;  and  Middleborough,  Mass  ;  '29,  North  Providence. 

Ordinations.  In  1821,  Daniel  Green ;  '22,  Daniel 
WiUiams  ;  '24,  Jacob  W.  Darling  ;  '25,  Martin  Cheney, 
Horatio  N.  Loring,  Ahab  Reed,  and  Abel  Thornton ;  '27, 
Smith  Fairfield  ;  '28,  Levi  Chase  ;  and  Charles  Reming- 
ton, Conn. ;  '29,  Maxy  "W.  Burlingame,  Cyrus  Steere, 
and  John  M.  Yearnshaw. 

Death.     In  1825,  Josiah  Graves,  Conn. 


1820.]  EDWABD   E.    BODGE.  399 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

NEW  YORK  AND  CANADA  WEST. 
1820—1830. 

Edward  E.  Dodge — 'Owego  Quarterly  Meeting — Richard  M.  Carey— 
Ashford — ^David  Marks — Holland  Purchase  Yearly  Meeting — Quarter- 
ly Meeting  at  Pike — Ellicottville — Andrew Banghart — Jenkins  in  Can- 
ada.— Marks  in  Owego  Quarterly  Meeting — ^Patchingism — Death  of 
Eolsom — ^Darling  at  SpaiFord — Lyon  at  Fairport  —  Lorenzo  Dow — 
Quarterly  Meeting  at  Middlesex — Great  Revivals  in  1825 — Ontario 
Quarterly  Meeting — Jenkins  in  Canada — ^Death  of  Lord — Carey  at 
Little  Valley — Churches  in  Canada — Alabama — Adon  Aldrich — Col- 
by's Life — Trials  in  Bethany  Quarterly  Meeting — Mission  Society^ 
Increase — Susquehannah  Yearly  Meeting — Marks  at  Scriba — Mason- 
ry— Trials  in  Ontario  Quarterly  Meeting — Illness  of  Carey — Jenkins 
in  Canada — ^Marks  in  Canada — ^Proposed  Union  in  Canada — ^Churches 
Organized — Ordinations — Deaths. 

For  three  years  John  Gould  had  been  preaching  in  the 
southern  part  of  central  New  York,  and  had  gathered  a 
few  churches.  About  the  year  1819,  Edward  E.  Dodge, 
from  Lisbon,  N.  H.,  settled  in  Dryden,  near  the  head  of 
Lake  Cayuga,  and  united  heartily  with  Gould  in  breaking 
to  the  people  the  bread  of  life.  After  two  years  of  suc- 
cessful labor,  he  attended  the  Vermont  Yearly  Meeting, 
and  was  there  ordained.  These  two  ministers  were  the  only 
ones  in  that  part  of  the  State  ;  four  churches  had  been  or- 
ganized— ^Berkshire,  Candor,  Candor  and  Owego,  and  Cho- 
conet  in  Pennsylvania — and  May  27th,  1820,  they  met  in 
conference,  and  organized  the  Owego  Quarterly  Meeting. 
It  then  numbered  one  hundred  and  sixty  members,  and 
was  an  isolated  band  of  brethren  ;  but  Gould  visited  New 
England  the  next  year,  and  was  so  much  interested  in  the 


400  NEW   YORK   AND    CANADA   WEST.  [1820. 

Religious  Informer,  that  he  prociared  eight  subscribers  on 
his  return,  and  thus  did  they  seem  to  be  brought  into 
proximity  with  their  brethren  at  the  east. 

In  June  the  Boston  church  asked  for  the  ordination  of 
Richard  M.  Carey,  and  his  subsequent  position  as  a  min- 
ister will  justify  an  allusion  of  unusual  length  to  his  early 
trials  and  privations,  as  many  of  them  strikingly  illustrate 
the  hardships  of  pioneer  life,  which  was  the  life  of  many 
FreewiU  Baptists  during  the  first  half  century.  He  says, 
"  I  was  bom  in  Williamsburgh,  Mass.,  in  1794,  and  my 
m.emory  goes  back  to  within  three  years  of  my  birth,  at 
which  time  I  distinctly  remember  that  my  brother  died, 
and  that  I  was  drowned.  Crossing  a  stream  in  sight  of 
the  house,  I  slipped  from  the  log,  struggled  a  few  mo- 
ments, and  sank  to  the  bottom.  As  I  lay  there  on  my 
back,  the  sun,  shining  full  in  my  face,  grew  less  and  less 
till  its  light  soon  went  out.  My  next  consciousness  found 
me  on  the  shore  in  great  distress,  in  the  hands  of  friends, 
who  were  bringing  me  to  life.  When  twelve  years  of  age 
my  father  removed  to  western  New  York,  and,  passing 
through  the  little  village  of  Buffalo,  we  lodged  in  a  log 
tavern,  the  only  public  house  in  the  place.  After  travel- 
ling southward  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie  for  several  miles 
(there  being  no  road  in  that  direction) ,  we  turned  to  the 
left,  threading  our  way  through  a  dense  forest  for  a  dozen 
miles,  and  settled  in  what  is  now  Boston,  being  the  third 
family  in  town.  In  two  directions  we  had  not  a  neighbor 
within  forty  miles,  and  our  house  was  a  pole  cottage, 
twelve  feet  square.  We  had  neither  schools  nor  meetings, 
but  my  pious  parents  held  on  to  the  strong  arm  of  the 
Lord. 

"  In  1810  a  sister  died  suddenly;  but  there  was  no 
minister  at  the  funeral,  and  none  to  offer  prayer  but  my 
poor,  heart-broken  father.  With  the  war  of  1812  came 
one  continued  scene  of  excitement  and  alarm.  The  mili- 
tia were  called  out  to  repel  attacks  from  the  British,  and 
the  unprotected  families  at  home  were  in  constant  fear  of 


1820.]  RICHARD  M.  CARET,  401 

the  savages.  Then  came  the  fatal  aiFray  at  the  burning 
of  Buffalo,  on  the  30th  of  December,  1813,  when  three 
hundred  citizens  were  slain,  and  among  them  my  older 
brother.  He  was  personally  attacked  by  three  Indians, 
and,  after  laying  two  of  them  dead  at  his  feet,  was  shot 
through  the  heart  by  the  third.  His  poor  body,  all  man- 
gled and  covered  with  wounds,  was  brought  home  for 
interment.  Again  were  we  compelled  to  perform  the  sol- 
emn rites  of  burial  service,  with  no  servant  of  the  living 
God  to  speak  words  of  consolation  over  the  remains  of 
that  pious  son  and  brother,  or  commend  us  to  the  God  of 
all  grace.  With  yearning  hearts  we  gathered  in  silence 
around  his  giant  form  (he  weighed  275  pounds),  dropped 
the  scalding  tear  on  his  noble  brow,  and  laid  him  down  in 
the  house  appointed  for  all  the  living. 

"  About  this  time  I  was  brought  near  to  death  by  sick- 
ness ;  but  through  all  these  scenes  my  hard  heart  did  not 
relent.  I  had  been  trained  in  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism, 
and  unyieldingly  said  to  myself,  under  all  serious  impres- 
sions, '  If  I  am  to  be  saved,  I  shall  be  ;  if  not,  I  must  be 
damned.'  This,  my  cherished  motto,  well  nigh  proved  my 
ruin. 

"  In  June,  1814,  Eld.  Jeremiah  Folsom  came  into  the 
place,  and  my  heart  was  touched.  But  I  resisted  for  two 
years  longer,  when  Folsom  asked  me  if  I  did  not  wish  to 
have  religion.  My  reply  Avas,  '  It  is  not  of  him  that  will- 
eth,  nor  of  him  that  runneth,  but  of  God  who  showeth 
mercy.'  '  That  is  true,'  said  he,  '  salvation  is  not  of  man, 
but  of  God  ;  and  Christ  has  brought  it  within  the  reach 
of  all  without  their  willing  or  running,  but  you  wiU  have 
to  will  and  run  both,  if  you  ever  obtain  it.'  I  accepted 
his  instruction,  and  was  one  of  a  hundred  who  found  de- 
liverance in  that  reformation.  God  then  called  me  into 
the  ministry,  and  I  dared  not  disobey.  When  the  council 
came  for  my  ordination,  and  the  examination  was  ended, 
one  of  them  turned  to  my  dear  wife,  and  asked  if  she 
34* 


402  NEW  YORK   AND    CANADA   WEST.  [1821. 

could  give  me  up.  She  assented  in  tears,  looking  at  her 
little  ones,  and  seeming  to  feel  unutterable  things." 

And  here  it  may  be  observed  that  it  was  no  small  sacri- 
fice for  a  family  to  yield  its  head  to  the  Freewill  Baptist 
ministry  forty  years  ago.  The  compensation  was  always 
meagre  ;  and  if  he  accomplished  much,  his  time  must  be 
largely  devoted  to  the  work.  This  was  often  done  by  men 
of  small  resources,  and  at  a  sacrifice  of  many  family  com- 
forts. 

In  Ashford,  Cattaraugus  county,  a  few  pious  families 
were  wont  to  meet  around  in  their  log  cabins  for  prayer 
and  praise.  After  sustaining  their  meeting  for  sometime, 
Carey  was  the  first  minister  that  went  to  their  aid.  A 
revival  followed,  and  a  church  of  eleven  members,  the  first 
in  town,  was  organized  in  September.  He  took  the  pas- 
toral care  of  the  little  flock,  and  preached  with  them  regu- 
larly a  few  times  each  year.  Jonathan  N.  Hinkley  and 
Samuel  Gilman  were  eminently  successful  at  this  time, 
the  latter  especially,  in  his  labors  with  the  Bergen  church. 

A  new  light  now  appeared  in  the  horizon,  nor  did  it 
linger  there,  but,  riding  up  the  murky  sky,  it  soon  became 
clear  and  promising.  Many  were  the  obscuring  influences 
through  which  it  came  into  notice,  but  they  were  all  over- 
come. David  Marks  was  not  the  boy,  as  he  afterwards 
was  not  the  man,  to  put  his  "light  under  a  bushel." 
Neither  youth,  indigence,  ignorance,  nor  opposition,  nor 
all  these  combined,  could  deter  him  in  the  discharge  of  an 
honest  conviction  of  duty.  January  1st,  1821,  he  left 
home  in  Junius,  at  the  request  of  Rev.  Zebulon  Dean,  and 
spent  a  few  weeks  with  him  in  proti'acted  meetings,  usual- 
ly giving  an  exhortation  after  sermon.  After  this  his 
impressions  to  go  out  and  preach  were  irresistible  ;  but 
his  parents  thought  him  m^istaken  as  to  present  duty ; 
and,  besides  this,  they  seemed  to  need  the  avails  of  his 
labor.  Perceiving  the  struggles  of  his  mind,  they  finally 
gave  him  permission  to  go  ;  and  he  spent  a  month  in  Bru- 
tus, Camillus,  and  other  towns  where  an  extensive  revival 


1821.]  DAVID    MARKS.  403 

was  in  progress.  He  took  no  text,  and  made  no  attempt 
to  preach,  but  prayed,  exhorted,  visited,  and  improved 
every  opportunity  in  calling  attention  to  Jesus,  the  Sav- 
iour of  men.  The  last  of  April  he  again  tore  himself 
away  from  a  pleasant  home  and  dear  friends,  going  west- 
ward, and  telling  what  he  knew  about  the  Saviour's  love. 
Being  only  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  was  generally  called 
"  the  boy  preacher,"  and  was  often  treated  with  coldness, 
and  sometimes  with  abuse.  In  a  few  days  he  learned 
that  his  father's  house,  with  all  its  contents,  had  been  con- 
sumed by  fire,  but  still  onward  he  pushed  his  way,  attend- 
ing the  May  session  of  the  Benton,  Bethany,  and  Erie 
Quarterly  Meetings.  After  preaching  two  months  in  the 
Erie  Quarterly  Meeting,  he  received  by  letter  the  painful 
intelligence  of  his  mother's  death.  This  called  him  back 
to  Junius,  where  he  mingled  his  tears  and  prayers  with 
surviving  friends  over  their  irreparable  loss. 

Marks'  knowledge  of  books  was  then  very  limited,  and 
he  was  keenly  sensible  of  this  great  embarrassment  to 
ministerial  success.  His  good  sense  would  not  allow  him 
to  think  of  standing  as  a  watchman  on  Zion's  walls,  with- 
out drawing  from  the  armory  of  literature  as  well  as  grace, 
the  weapons  that  could  be  successfully  wielded  in  the 
cause  of  truth.  But  how  could  he  obtain  an  education, 
since  his  views  of  duty  forbade  his  leaving  the  ministry  to 
attend  school  ?  The  same  as  he  obtained  other  objects 
surrounded  by  frowning  difficulties.  Let  him  see  an  end, 
all-important  to  be  accomplished,  and  his  inventive  genius 
and  unyielding  purpose  seldom  failed  in  finding  the  means 
that  would  secure  it.  So  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 
"What  if  he  did  feel  constrained  to  preach  !  Could  he  not 
study,  too  ?  What  if  he  was  without  a  Grammar,  or  the 
means  of  buying  one  !  Would  not  a  day's  labor  furnish 
the  means  ?  See  him  on  the  Erie  canal,  pumping  wa- 
ter in  the  swamps  of  Montezuma !  In  him  the  labor- 
ers recognized  "  the  boy  preacher,"  and,  learning  his 
wishes,  they  make  up  a  purse,  and  he  preaches  to  them  in 


404  NEW  YORK   AND    CANADA   WEST.  |]1821. 

the  evening.  The  same  indomitable  energy  that  started 
him  on  his  purpose,  carries  him  through  the  study  of  his 
book.  By  night  and  by  day,  on  the  road  from  one  ap- 
pointment to  another,  and  in  his  room  after  retiring  for 
rest,  he  applies  himself  with  an  interest,  second  only  to 
that  given  to  the  "  Book  of  books,"  till  its  principles  and 
rules  are  mastered. 

The  propriety  of  forming  a  Yearly  Meeting  in  New 
York  had  been  for  some  time  agitated,  and  it  was  now 
agreed  in  all  the  Quarterly  Meetings  to  send  delegates  to 
Bethany  August  17th,  and  effect  an  organization.  Rev. 
Nathaniel  Brown  was  chosen  Moderator,  and  T.  Fowler, 
Clerk.  The  three  Quarterly  Meetings  were  represented, 
and  it  was  voted  to  organize  under  the  name  of  Holland 
Purchase  Yearly  Meeting.  The  Benton  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, east  of  the  Genesee  river,  numbered  ^  6  churches,  8 
ministers,  and  122  members.  The  Bethany  Quarterly 
Meeting,  mostly  west  of  the  Genesee,  numbered  13  church- 
es, 18  ministers,  and  548  members.  The  Erie  Quarterly 
Meeting,  near  Lake  Erie,  numbered  8  churches,  7  minis- 
ters, and  198  members.  The  meeting  continued  three 
days,  and  on  the  last,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  five  ser- 
mons were  preached  to  a  large  congregation. 

The  Erie  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Pike  in  September,  was 
attended  with  a  few  conversions,  and  the  interest  was  sus- 
tained by  Rev.  Nathaniel  Ketchum,  in  a  very  precious 
revival.  Carey  went  to  Ellicotville,  a  small  settlement  of 
eleven  families,  where  no  sermon  had  ever  been  preached, 
and  no  prayer  had  been  publicly  made.  A  revival  follow- 
ed, and  every  house  became  a  house  of  prayer,  and  al- 
most every  heart  a  renewed  temple  for  the  indwelling  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  A  church  of  twenty  members  was  gath- 
ered. 

The  Spirit  of  God  found  access  to  the  heart  of  Andrew 
Banghart,  of  Upper  Canada,  more  than  one  hundred  miles 
west  of  Buffalo  ;  and,  being  converted  himself,  he  began 
1  Religious  Informer,  Vol.  ii.,  No.  2,  p.  169. 


1822.]  PATCHINGISM.  405 

to  exhort  his  neighbors,  till  forty  or  fifty  of  them  were 
happy  in  the  same  precious  faith.  They  were  despised 
and  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken  ;  and  some  of  them  from 
New  Hampshire  and  the  lower  province,  had  heard  of 
Christians  in  "Western  New  York,  of  sentiments  similar  to 
their  own,  and  Banghart  was  sent  in  quest  of  them.  The 
efibrt  was  unsuccessful ;  but  he  was  sent  a  second  time, 
and  now  found  brethren  of  the  Bethany  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing, who  heard  his  story,  and  received  him  with  favor. 
His  certificates,  farther  acquaintance,  and  preaching,  were 
satisfactory  to  all,  and  he  was  both  baptized  and  ordained 
before  his  return. 

Herman  Jenkins  left  home  November  5th,  on  an  ex- 
ploring tour  into  Canada,  bearing  with  him  a  letter  of 
commendation  from  the  Bethany  Quarterly  Meeting.  On 
the  eleventh  day  he  arrived  at  the  house  of  Banghart,  in 
Westminster,  and  found  a  church  there  of  twenty  mem- 
bers. His  coming,  like  that  of  Titus  to  Paul,  was  com- 
forting. He  baptized  seven,  preached  fifty-six  sermons  in 
the  province,  and  travelled  600  miles.  A  church  in  Dun- 
wich  was  organized  by  Banghart,  and  thus  was  laid  the 
foundation  of  our  interests  in  Canada. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  Marks  was  in  Plainfield, 
preaching  with  the  Free  Communion  Baptists,  and  in 
Brookfield  he  labored  in  a  revival  for  six  weeks,  and  saw 
thirty  or  forty  rejoicing  in  the  Christian's  hope.  In  April, 
1822,  he  was  in  the  Owego  Quarterly  Meeting,  preaching 
in  all  the  churches,  and  in  many  other  places.  The  cause 
was  advancing,  and  in  Candor  the  revival  was  quite  ex- 
tensive. 

Within  the  limits  of  the  Benton  Quarterly  Meeting,  and 
along  its  borders  on  every  side,  were  many  openings,  and 
calls  for  help.  Ministers  supplied  them,  as  far  as  they  could, 
and  three  churches  were  added.  A  letter  from  Carey  in 
the  Informer,  speaks  of  continued  prosperity  in  the  Erie 
Quarterly  Meeting,  though  wading  through  the  severe 
trials  of  Patchingism, 


406  NEW  YORK  AND    CANADA   \yEST.  [1823. 

Tallcot  Patching  was  born  near  Saratoga  Springs  in 
1791,  entered  the  army  as  first  lieutenant  in  1812,  was 
wounded  at  Chippewa,  and  settled  in  Boston,  where  he 
experienced  religion  in  1816.  He  was  a  man  of  good 
abilities,  winning  manners,  and  fluent  speech ;  and  soon 
commenced  preaching,  but  was  never  ordained.  In  1818, 
he  advocated  in  Quarterly  Meeting  the  reception  of  sprink- 
led persons  to  church  membership,  and  soon  disapproved 
of  all  gospel  ordinances  and  church  organizations.  He 
also  claimed  that  the  inner  light  was  a  more  sure  guide 
than  the  outward  letter,  and  brought  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible  to  the  test  of  his  own  feelings.  The  cburch  was 
denounced  as  Babylon,  and  his  opposition  became  intense. 
He  travelled  through  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  had  ad- 
herents in  almost  every  church.  One  minister,  and  two 
or  three  that  had  received  license,  were  alienated  by  his 
influence ;  Ketchum  was  advanced  in  years,  and  Fol- 
som  was  in  declining  health,  both  unable  to  oppose  the 
heresy  with  much  vigor.  But  Carey  was  young  and 
strong,  and  threw  himself  into  the  breach  with  aU  his 
manly  powers.  He  attended  the  covenant  meetings  of 
seven  or  eight  churches  every  month,  defended  the  cause, 
and  silenced  opposition.  But  it  was  a  serious  contest,  and 
years  passed  away  before  all  was  quiet.  Many  were  dis- 
affected and  left  the  churches,  and  in  1834,  Patching  him- 
self removed  to  Texas. 

In  the  midst  of  these  trials  another  affliction  was  expe- 
rienced by  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  the  death  of  its 
founder,  Rev.  Jeremiah  Folsom,  of  Boston.  He  was  a 
native  of  Gilmanton,  N.  H.,  the  first  Freewill  Baptist  or- 
dained in  New  York,  and  for  eleven  years  had  preached 
the  gospel  and  administered  the  ordinances  with  almost 
unparalleled  success.  His  time  and  energies  had  been 
given  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  almost  gratuitously  given  ; 
and,  when  health  failed,  it  seemed  hard  to  leave  the  com- 
panion of  his  youth  without  means  to  meet  the  wants  of 
ten  children.     But  the  grace  of  God  was  equal  to  the 


1824.]  GREAT   REVIVALS.  .  407 

emergency,  and  lie  triumphantly  departed  June  IStli, 
1823.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life,  aged  41,  and  thou- 
sands mourned  that  one  so  good  and  useful  should  be  thus 
cut  down. 

A  close  communion  Baptist  church  in  Floyd  and  "Web- 
ster, Oneida  county,  was  visited  in  ^1823,  by  Jacob  TV. 
Darling  from  Rhode  Island,  a  revival  ensued,  and  the 
church  became  open  communion,  and  free  in  doctrine. 
He  preached  in  Spafford,  in  company  with  John  G-ould, 
and  organized  the  first  church  in  town.  This  was  six 
years  before  the  General  Conference  was  held  there. 

Daniel  Lyon  now  commenced  preaching  in  Perrinton 
[Fairport]  just  thirty  years  before  the  General  Confer- 
ence was  held  in  that  place.  The  circumstances  were  em- 
barrassing, but  he  persevered,  and  the  next  season  a  small 
church  was  organized. 

Marks  was  in  western  New  York  during  the  year,  and 
spent  "  one  hundred  days  in  a  reformation  in  Batavia  and 
Elba,"  and  labored  successfully  in  Groveland  and  Gen- 
eseo.  Herman  Jenkins  was  blessed  in  his  labors  at  Mid- 
dlebury,  where  a  large  number  were  brought  to  Christ. 

The  eccentric  Lorenzo  Dow  was  in  the  vicinity,  and  at- 
tended the  Holland  Purchase  Yearly  Meeting  at  Sweden, 
where  his  sermon  was  not  only  instructive,  but  spiritual, 
and  free  from  his  usual  singularities.  Other  sermons 
were  preached  by  Marks,  Craw,  Parmenter,  and  Josiah 
Fowler. 

The  Benton  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Middlesex  in  1824, 
was  one  of  great  interest.  The  reports  were  encourag- 
ing, and  two  sermons  were  delivered  on  Saturday.  The 
council  for  the  examination  of  Samuel  Bradford  met  at  7 
o'clock,  Sabbath  morning  ;  the  ordination  services  occupi- 
ed the  forenoon,  performed  by  Craw,  Norton,  Wire  and 
Dean  ;  and  in  the  afternoon  two  more  sermons  were 
preached.  It  was  a  melting  time  ;  some  wept  for  joy,  and 
others  for  sorrow.  "Wire  tarried  a  fcAV  days,  baptized 
several,  and  the  gracious  work  continued.     In  the  Bethany 


408  NEW  YORK   AND    CANADA   WEST.  [1825. 

Quarterly  Meeting  there  were  many  trials,  and  no  great 
prosperity  save  in  the  Clarkson  church.  Susan  Humes, 
from  Rhode  Island,  was  now  travelling  through  the 
churches  in  central  and  western  New  York,  holding  meet- 
ings, with  good  effect. 

The  year  1825  was  noted  for  revivals,  numerous  and 
extensive.  Darling,  Gould,  Dodge  and  Thornton  had 
been  untiring  in  their  labors  in  the  central  part  of  the 
State,  and  southward  into  Pennsylvania,  and  now  they 
were  reaping  the  fruit  of  their  labor.  In  Spafford  two 
hundred  were  converted,  and  the  church,  having  been  dis- 
missed from  the  Owego  Quarterly  Meeting,  now  held  a 
session  by  itself,  and  one  or  two  other  churches  uniting, 
it  became  the  Spafford  Quarterly  Meeting. 

Fifty  miles  westward  the  Avork  was  even  more  exten- 
sive. In  Potter  one  hundred  were  converted,  forty  of 
whom  united  with  the  church  there.  In  Middlesex  about 
one  hundred  were  baptized  by  Wire,  and  two  new  church- 
es formed.  A  church  Avas  also  organized  in  Italy,  and 
the  work  spread  extensively.  Wire  estimated  the  num- 
ber of  conversions  in  Wayne,  Yates  and  Ontario  coun- 
ties, at  one  thousand. 

The  Benton  Quarterly  Meeting  noAV  extended  from 
Lake  Ontario  on  the  north,  into  Pennsylvania  on  the 
south,  and  in  the  autumn,  eight  of  these  northern  churches, 
including  five  ordained  ministers  and  one  hundred  and 
forty  members,  were  organized  as  the  Ontario  Quarterly 
Meeting.  These  churches  Avere  Williamson,  Galen,  So- 
das, Lyons,  Fabius,  Junius,  Brutus,  and  Manchester. 

Still  farther  AA-estAvard,  in  Clarkson,  a  revival  com- 
menced the  preceding  year,  soon  after  the  ordination  of 
Eli  Hannibal,  and,  through  his  instrumentality,  it  contin- 
ued till  one  hundred  and  fifty  were  brought  into  the  fold 
of  Christ.  During  the  summer,  Jenkins  took  another 
tour  into  Canada,  travelled  400  miles,  preached  tAventy- 
five  times,  and  baptized  eleven.  In  many  places  the  pros- 
pects were  encouraging  for  building  up  large  churches. 


1826.]  CHURCHES  IN  CANADA.  409 

Rev.  Daniel  Lord,  for  twenty  years  an  active  laborer 
in  New  Hampshire,  was  so  nearly  blind  that  he  could 
never  recognize  a  person  five  rods  distant ;  and,  for  many 
years,  he  could  not  see  at  all.  His  last  days  were  spent 
with  his  children  in  Covington,  Genesee  county,  where  he 
died  August  27th,  aged  76. 

Early  in  1826,  Carey,  while  on  a  tour  through  the 
southern  counties,  preached  in  Little  Valley,  a  town  bor- 
dering on  Pennsylvania.  The  word  took  effect,  and,  on  a 
second  visit,  quite  a  number  confessed  their  sins.  A 
meeting  was  appointed  for  the  next  day,  and  a  company  of 
militia  being  on  duty,  the  captain  marched  to  the  door, 
ordered  his  men  to  "  stack  arms,"  and  all  went  in  and' 
listened  to  the  gospel  of  peace.  The  power  of  God  was 
present,  and  it  was  a  melting  time.  Several  then  enlist-, 
ed  under  the  great  Captain  of  their  salvation,  and  the 
work  became  general  through  the  town.  In  September  he 
and  Wire  organized  a  church  there.  The  church  in  Ash- 
ford  was  greatly  revived,  and  the  Quarterly  Meeting  was 
enjoying  prosperity. 

A  revival  had  commenced  in  Ontario,  previous  to  tho^ 
Yearly  Meeting  there,  and,  receiving  a  new  impulse,  it 
continued  till  more  than  one  hundred  professed  faith  in 
Christ.  At  this  Yearly  Meeting  Thomas  Huckins,  a 
licensed  preacher  from  London,  Canada  "West,  was  solicit- 
ing help  for  that  field  of  labor.  A  committee  visited  the 
province  and  organized  a  church  at  London.  The  next 
Yearly  Meeting  requested  Marks  and  FreebornW.  Straight, 
then  just  licensed,  to  visit  the  province.  They  arrived  in 
London  October  13th,  and  found  the  little  church  assem-. 
bled  for  monthly  meeting,  and  never  was  the  coming  of 
friends  more  welcome.  A  revival  had  already  commenc- 
ed in  the  church,  and  was  now  followed  by  one  in  the 
Dunwich  church,  thirty  miles  south.  These  were  the 
only  churches,  and  Huckins  the  only  minister,  in  the 
province.  Marks  was  there  six  weeks,  and  Straight  re-- 
mained  through  the  winter. 
35 


410  NEW  TOKK  AND   CANADA   WEST.  [1827. 

A  few  years  prior  to  this  [1826],  Rev.  Samuel  Whit- 
comb  was  called  into  Alabama,  Genesee  county,  to  attend 
the  funeral  of  a  child  that  had  wandered  away  and  died  in 
the  woods.  This  opened  the  way  for  other  meetings,  and 
now  several  were  converted  and  a  church  formed,  the  first 
in  town. 

In  1827  Rev.  Adon  Aldrich  left  the  Ontario  Quarterly 
Meeting,  and  commenced  preaching  in  Chenango  county, 
eighty  miles  to  the  southeast.  Churches  were  soon  estab- 
lished in  Norwich  and  New  Berlin,  and  three  years  after, 
the  Norwich,  now  Chenango,  Quarterly  Meeting,  was  or- 
ganized. 

Marks  now  published  a  second  edition  of  Colby's  Life, 
and  its  circulation  in  the  West  did  much  towards  confirm- 
ing Christians  in  the  spirituality  of  their  worship.  An- 
other edition  Avas  published  the  next  year  by  Cole  &  Co., 
Cornish,  Maine. 

The  Bethany  Quarterly  Meeting  Avas  now  passing 
through  severe  trials  with  its  ministry.  Not  less  than 
four  were  called  to  an  account,  and  two  were  excluded. 
The  trials  with  Collins  and  Parmenter  were  long  and 
perplexing.  Christians  became  more  distrustful  of  man, 
and  more  confident  in  Christ,  as  alone  woi'thy  of  the 
heart's  warmest  affections.  By  vote  of  the  Quarterly 
Meeting,  Rev.  J.  N.  Hinkley  prepared  a  constitution,  and 
was  sent  through  the  churches  to  form  societies  for  the 
support  of  indigent  preachers.  This  was  abandoned  the 
next  year,  and,  in  1829,  a  Freewill  Baptist  Mission  Soci- 
ety was  formed  to  aid  itinerant  preachers.  Various  were 
the  plans  and  efforts  for  the  support  of  the  ministry, 
before  anything  like  successful  system  was  adopted. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  was  onward  in  its  march,  as  the 
reports  of  the  year  show  an  accession  of  6  ministers,  8 
churches,  and  386  members.  Decided  action  was  taken 
against  Masonry,  a  subject  that  was  now  exciting  the 
public  mind,  and  alienating  members  of  the  same  church. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Susquehannah,  both  in  New  York 


1828.]  YEARLY  MEETINGS,  411 

and  Pennsylvania,  were  churclies  and  Quarterly  Meetings 
that  could  be  acconamodated  with  no  Yearly  Meeting, 
hitherto  organized.  Their  number  and  locality  seemed  to 
demand  another  Yearly  Meeting,  and  Revs.  J.  W.  Dar- 
ling, of  the  Spafford  Quarterly  Meeting,  Ewdard  E.  Dodge 
and  Asa  Dodge  of  the  Owego  Quarterly  Meeting,  and 
Daniel  Chase  of  the  Gribson  (Pennsylvania)  Quarterly 
Meeting,  with  several  laymen,  met  at  Dryden,  August 
31,  1827,  and  organized  the  Susquehannah  Yearly  Meet- 
ing, embracing  the  three  Quarterly  Meetings  above  named. 
This  has  been  one  of  the  border  Yearly  Meetings,  and 
has  had  influences  to  encounter  that  others  have  not  met, 
but  its  progi'ess  has  been  steady,  though  not  rapid. 

The  little  church  in  Scriba  had  been  a  forlorn  hope  till 
the  present  autumn,  and  their  revived  prospects  opened 
anew  with  the  year  1828.  David  Marks  was  there, 
preaching  three  or  four  hours 'a  day,  and,  after  three 
lengthy  sermons,  January  20th,  he  retired  to  rest,  greatly 
exhausted.  A  little  past  midnight  a  death-like  feeling 
came  over  him,  blood  flowed  freely  frona  his  lungs,  and  he 
expected  that  his  work  was  done.  He  reviewed  both  the 
doctrines  he  had  preached,  and  the  life  he  had  lived,  and 
was  satisfied.  His  soul  was  ravished  with  the  prospect 
of  immediate  admission  into  the  presence  of  his  Saviour 
and  "  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  but  th« 
thought  of  sinners  exposed  to  death  awakened  a  desire  to 
warn  them  yet  longer.  The  angel  of  death  was  recalled, 
his  sinking  spirits  revived,  and,  after  a  few  days,  he  was 
in  active  service  again.  In  September  he  attended  the 
second  session  of  the  Susquehannah  Yearly  Meeting  at 
Windsor,  and  preached  two  or  three  times.  It  was  a  sea- 
son of  considerable  interest,  and  closed  with  the  ordination 
of  Bishop  A.  RusseU. 

The  session  of  the  Holland  Purcha'se  Yearly  Meeting 
was  this  year  a  memorable  occasion.  Revivals  were  pro- 
gressing in  all  four  of  the  Quarterly  Meetings,  and  many 
of  the   churches  were  becoming  strong   and   influential. 


412  NEW  YORK   AND   CANADA  WEST.  [1828. 

Sermons  were  preached  by  Marks,  Brown,  Carey,  Fow- 
ler, Braman,  Craw,  Straight  and  Dodge.  After  three 
sermons  in  a  grove  on  Saturday,  James  Bignal  was  ordain- 
ed. The  meeting  that  evening  was  one  of  great  power, 
and  continued  till  a  late  hour.  The  discussion  on  Mason- 
ry was  warm  but  fraternal ;  and,  with  only  two  negative 
votes,  and  four  undecided,  it  was  agreed  that  "  Masonry 
is  wicked ;  and  for  a  Christian  to  be  one,  is  a  crime 
worthy  of  admonition."  To  secure  unanimity  of  action, 
this  resolution  was  reconsidered,  and  on  Monday,  after 
much  conversation  and  prayer  on  the  subject,  during  the 
meeting,  the  Elders'  Conference  "  Resolved^  that  we  ad- 
vise the  Quarterly  Meetings  and  churches  in  our  connec- 
tion to  hold  no  fellowship  with  active  Free  Masons,  but 
to  admonish  such  brethren  as  belong  to  the  fraternity, 
to  withdraw  therefrom,  and  refrain  from  advocating  the 
system." 

The  Ontario  Quarterly  Meeting  had  been  wadingthrough 
trials  almost  from  the  time  of  its  organization.  The 
church  in  Lyons  received,  and  persisted  in  retaining,  ex- 
cluded members  from  other  churches,  and  was  itself 
excluded.  The  Bible  says,  "  Mark  them  which  cause 
divisions  and  offences,  contrary  to  the  doctrines  which  ye 
have  learned,  and  avoid  them."  In  obedience  to  this  re- 
quirement, fellowship  was  withdrawn  from  a  minister  and 
part  of  the  church  in  Williamson.  These  separations 
were  like  cutting  off  a  hand  or  a  foot,  but  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  felt  that  it  was  better  to  lose  the  diseased  parts, 
than  that  the  whole  body  should  perish.  But  the  trials 
did  not  end  here.  Those  disaffected  churches  and  their 
sympathizers  united  in  an  association,  calling  themselves 
Freewill  Baptists,  and  thus,  for  a  time,  did  they  bring  the 
name  into  disrepute. 

After  the  death  of  Folsom,  the  care  of  the  churches  in 
the  Erie  Quarterly  Meeting  rested  mainly  upon  Carey. 
For  several  years  he  preached  statedly  in  five  different 
towns,  in  which  time  he  performed  missionary  tours  every 


1828.]  MARKS    IN   CANADA.  413 

year,  planted  six  churches,  was  on  councils  frequently, 
and  attended  funerals  far  and  near.  In  the  fall  of  1828 
he  sunk  under  the  burden  of  these  accumulating  labors. 
After  a  time  his  general  health  was  gradually  restored, 
but  the  use  of  his  limbs  he  did  not  then  recover.  For 
seven  years  he  was  not  able  to  walk  half  a  mile  at  a  time, 
and  neither  medical  aid  nor  mineral  waters  aflPorded  re- 
lief. And  during  this  whole  time  he  preached  constantly 
and  successfully  to  his  own  people  in  Boston,  sitting  in  an 
easy  chair. 

About  the  first  of  February  Herman  Jenkins  received 
two  letters  from  Canada,  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  distant,  requesting  him  to  come  and  baptize,  there 
being  no  ordained  Freewill  Baptist  in  that  province.  It 
was  a  couple  of  weeks  before  he  could  leave,  and  he  then 
set  out  on  his  sixth  visit  to  that  western  vineyard.  The 
weather  was  unpleasant,  the  travelling  bad,  and  he  was 
also  detained  by  religious  interests  awakened  on  the  route. 
When  he  arrived  in  March,  the  people  had  given  up  the 
idea  of  his  coming,  and  had  persuaded  Straight  to  go  into 
New  York  and  receive  ordination,  that  they  might  have 
a  minister  of  their  own,  authorized  to  administer  the  ordi- 
nances. Jenkins  found  the  revival  in  check  by  a  petty 
division  just  creeping  in,  and  each  party  was  more  anx- 
ious to  justify  itself,  than  to  seek  salvation.  He  hushed 
their  complaints  by  saying,  "  I  determined  not  to  know 
anything  among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified  ;" 
and  on  this  position  he  pressed  them  with  the  inquiry, 
"  Who  is  on  my  side  ?  who  ?"  The  spirit  of  division  at 
once  slunk  away,  and  the  work  of  salvation  went  glori- 
ously on.  He  continued  his  labors  for  two  months, 
preached  87  times,  baptized  forty,  and  gathered  a  church 
in  Southhold  of  26  members. 

Immediately  after  the  return  of  Jenkins,  Marks  went  to 

Canada,   and   the   reformation   continued.     June   7th,  a 

council  met  at  London,  consisting  of  Marks,  Straight,  and 

five  deacons,  for  the  examination  and  ordination  of  Thomas 

35* 


414         NEW  YORK  AND  CANADA  WEST.       [1829. 

Huckins.  The  meeting  continued  over  the  Sabbath,  and 
great  was  the  number  in  attendance  to  witness  the  first 
Freewill  Baptist  ordination  in  Canada. 

In  May,  1829,  Marks  was  again  in  Canada,  having 
been  appointed  by  the  Holland  Purchase  Yearly  Meeting, 
with  Hinkley,  Jenkins  and  Straight,  as  a  committee  to 
attend  the  Yearly  Meeting  of  the  Free  Communion  Bap- 
tists in  the  province,  and  effect  a  union  with  them  if  prac- 
ticable. There  were  at  this  time,  about  midway  between 
the  lakes  Ontario,  Huron  and  Erie,  three  Freewill  Baptist 
churches,  and  four  Free  Communion  Baptist  churches,  far 
removed  from  others  of  kindred  faith.  The  latter  were 
gathered  by  Rev.  Thomas  Tallman  from  New  York,  six 
or  eight  years  before.  Marks  and  Straight  attended  the 
Yearly  Meeting  at  Oxford,  and  it  was  agreed  to  refer  the 
proposed  union  to  the  churches,  who  should  send  delegates 
with  instruction  to  a  conference,  that  should  meet  at  Ox- 
ford June  26th.  The  conference  met  according  to  ap- 
pointment, and  was  composed  of  Marks,  Straight,  Huckins, 
and  five  laymen,  on  the  one  side  ;  and  Harris,  Smith, 
Goble,  and  eleven  laymen,  on  the  other.  After  a  full  in- 
vestigation of  the  faith  and  practice  on  both  sides,  it  was 
agreed,  with  great  unanimity,  that  the  only  difference  in 
doctrine  was  on  the  certain  perseverance  of  the  saints, 
and  the  only  difference  in  practice  was  in  the  use  of  cove- 
nants. It  was  also  agreed  that  these  differences  were  not 
of  sufficient  importance  to  require  separation,  and  that 
they  would  assist  each  other  with  the  same  freedom  as  if 
they  were  but  one  denomination.  Thus  were  taken  the 
incipient  steps  towards  that  union  so  happily  consummated 
twelve  years  after,  when  the  two  denominations  were  in- 
dissolubly  cemented  in  one. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1820,  Ashford,  Columbus. 
Eden,  Junius,  Pembroke,  Scriba,  and  Stafford  ;  '21,  Al- 
exander, Eaton,  Ellicottville,  Genoa,  Scipio ;  and  Dunwich, 
and  Westminster,  Canada  ;  '22,  Dryden  and  Virgil,  Galen. 
and  Pike ;  '23,  Middlesex,  Pottstown,  Putnam,  Schrcep- 


1829.]  CHURCHES    ORGANIZED,   ETC.  415 

pel  and  Palermo,  and  Spafford  ;  '24,  Dryden  ;  '25,  Fow- 
ler, Hamburg,  Italy,  Second  Middlesex,  Third  Middlesex, 
Potter,  and  Williamson  ;  '26,  Alabama,  Elba,  Fabius,  and 
Little  Valley  ;  '27,  Poultney,  Royalton,  Second  Spafford, 
Villanovia ;  and  London,  Canada  ;  '28,  Angelica,  Cato, 
Cherry  Creek,  Niles,Orangeville,  Second  Poultney,  Second 
Scriba  ;  Southhold,  Canada  ;  '29,  Addison,  Conesus,  Spar- 
ta, Stephentown  and  Nassau,  and  Walton.  It  is  unknown 
in  what  year  churches  were  gathered  in  Bx'istol,  Byron, 
China,  Clarkson  and  Sweden,  and  Leroy. 

Ordinations.  In  1820,  Andrew  H.  Miller,  Richard  M. 
Carey,  John  Norton,  and  Samuel  Whitcomb  ;  '21,  Andrew 
Banghart,  Burnet  Hart,  and  Elisha  Collins  ;  '22,  Benjamin 
Rolph  ;  and  James  Harris,  Canada  ;  '23,  Jacob  Crosby, 
Benjamin  McKoon,  and  F.  B.  Tanner ;  '24,  Samuel  Brad- 
ford, Eli  Hannibal,  Allen  Jones,  Daniel  Lyon,  and  Jacob 
Perry  ;  '25,  A.  C.  Andrus,  L.  G-.  Gardner,  Smith  Rogers, 
and  Amos  Perry  ;  '26,  Alanson  Draper,  Thomas  Grinold, 
David  Marks,  and  Abram  Shear  ;  '27,  John  Stid  ;  '28, 
James  Bignal,  Thomas  Parker,  Bishop  A.  Russell,  F.  W. 

Straight, Wiant ;    and   Thomas  Huckins,    Canada  ; 

'29,  William  Gray,  and  Jared  H.  Miner.  We  cannot  fix 
the  year  in  which  the  following  men  were  ordained  : — 
Adon  Aldrich,  Benoni  Blakely,  Jesse  Braman,  He  man 
Bruce,  F.  C.  Carlton,  Amos  Daniels,  Manoah  Delling, 
Asa  Dodge,  and  Benjamin  Leavitt. 

Deaths.  In  1823,  Jeremiah  Folsom;  '25,  Daniel 
Lord ;  '28,  Ellis. 


416  PENNSYLVANIA.  1821.] 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
PENNSYLVANIA. 

1820—1830. 

Church  in  Jackson — Jenkins'  Letter — Mount  Pleasant  Church — Gibson 
Quarterly  Meeting — ^Dodge  and  Thornton  at  Troy — Cookstown  Church 
— Cookstown  Quarterly  Meeting — ^Northwestern  Pennsylvania — Wayne 
Quarterly  Meeting — Dodge  in  the  Gibson  Quarterly  Meeting — ^New- 
bold  in  Bedford  County — Churches  Organized — Ordinations. 

In  the  two  extreme  corners  of  Pennsyivania-,  the  north- 
east and  southwest,  were  a  few  small  churches  gathered 
in  the  last  decade.  Our  knowledge  of  their  labors,  trials 
and  success,  is  very  limited,  consequently  little  will  be 
said. 

A  few  Christians  in  Jackson,  Susquehannah  county, 
were  grieving  over  the  sad  state  of  religious  interest  in 
their  vicinity,  and  agreed  to  establish  and  sustain  a 
prayer  meeting.  This  was  in  1820,  and  the  Lord  so 
blessed  their  efforts,  that  in  July  several  related  theu" 
Christian  experience,  and  were  received  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  those  sustaining  the  meetings  There  being  no 
one  in  the  place  authorized  to  baptize,  Rev.  Daniel  Chase, 
now  living  in  Windsor,  N.  Y.,  was  invited  to  visit  them, 
and  administer  the  ordinances.  He  did  so,  and  formed  a 
church  of  thirteen  members. 

In  1821  Herman  Jenkins,  of  New  York,  travelled 
through  the  border  counties,  as  far  west  as  Tioga,  and  at 
Delmar,  September  16th,  he  wrote  to  the  editor  of  the 
Informer,  saying,  "  I  am  now  far  from  home,  endeavor- 
ing to   preach   Christ,  and   am  happy  in  the  work.     I 


1822.]  GIBSON    QUARTERLY   MEETING.  417 

never  saw  a  greater  need  of  faithful  laborers.  Truly  it 
may  be  said,  '  The  harvest  is  plenteous,  but  laborers  are 
few.'  I  have  had  the  privilege  to  be  with  Eld.  John 
Gould,  a,nd  attend  the  Owe  go  Quarterly  Meeting,  to 
which  he  belongs,  and  I  find  the  Lord  is  raising  up  breth- 
ren all  over  this  wilderness  country.  Glory  to  his  name. 
Your  Informer  is  a  source  of  comfort  to  hundreds  in 
these  regions."  The  next  year,  Samuel  Wire,  of  New 
York,  took  a  journey  southward,  travelled  four  hundred 
miles,  and  preached  repeatedly  in  the  border  counties  of 
this  State. 

Six  Free  Communion  Baptist  churches  were  associated 
together  as  a  Yearly  Meeting,  whose  history,  in  few 
words,  may  be  thus  stated  :  ^  About  the  year  1801,  ten 
brethren  in  the  wilderness  at  Mount  Pleasant  united  in 
Christian  covenant.  They  were  soon  blessed  with  a 
shower  of  grace,  and  five  branches  were  added  to  the 
Mount  Pleasant  church.  After  five  or  six  years  of  pros- 
perity, trials  came.  Two  ministers  left  at  once  and 
joined  the  Close  Communion  Baptists.  Some  of  the 
churches  became  extinct,  but  Gibson  and  others  outrode 
the  storm,  and  additional  ones  were  formed.  In  1821, 
Rev.  Gideon  Lewis,  of  Clifibrd,  died,  an  aged  man  and 
faithful  minister,  leaving  the  churches  greatly  dishearten- 
ed. They  seem  to  have  constituted  no  part  of  the  Free 
Communion  Baptist  General  Conference,  according  to 
their  published  minutes ,2  but  had  enjoyed  a  mutual  cor- 
respondence with  the  Owego  Quarterly  Meeting.  A 
union  of  the  two  bodies  had  been  under  consideration, 
and  it  was  consummated  at  the  annual  meeting  of  these 
churches  in  Windsor,  N.  Y.,  August  31st,  1822,  when  it 
was  "  Voted  that  this  Yearly  Meeting  become  a  Quar- 
terly Meeting."  It  soon  took  the  name  of  Gibson  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  and  was  one  of  the  three  that  united  in 
forming  the  Susquehannah  Yearly  Meeting. 

'  Dr.  Robert  Chandler — ^Religious  Informer,  Vol.  iv.,  p.  10. 
*  Religious  Infonner,  Vol.  iv.,  p.  72. 


418  PENNSYLVANIA.  [1824. 

Rev.  Asa  Dodge  held  the  first  Freewill  Baptist  meeting 
in  Troy,  the  present  year,  with  seven  hearers.  He  was 
then  a  young  man,  and  the  people  soon  became  interested 
in  him  and  the  gospel  he  preached.  A  church  was  or- 
ganized in  1823,  and  the  next  year  Abel  Thornton,  from 
Rhode  Island,  spent  four  months  there  and  in  the  vicinity, 
in  which  time  fifty  were  converted,  and  the  church  became 
strong  and  efiicient. 

The  church  in  Cookstown,  southwestern  Pennsylvania, 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  Samuel  Williams,  now 
numbered  upwards  of  two  hundred  members,  and  was 
steadily  advancing.  Opposition  was  strong,  and  scandal 
was  rife,  but  both  were  overruled  for  the  good  of  the 
cause.  Being  hundreds  of  miles  from  any  sister  church, 
its  enemies  declared  that  there  were  no  other  Free- 
will Baptists,  and  that  this  lone  church  was  presuming 
too  much,  when  it  thought  of  maintaining  an  independent 
existence.  Williams  had  heard  of  the  Religious  Inform- 
er, and  the  church  ordered  several  copies,  and  thus  satis- 
fied the  public,  that  the  denomination  consisted,  not  of 
one  church  only,  but  of  hundreds,  and  was  rapidly  in- 
creasing. In  1824  he  labored  in  Washington  and  Fay- 
ette counties  ;  raore  than  two  hundred  were  converted, 
and  churches  were  there  organized.  From  this  time,  the 
interest  seemed  permanently  established,  and  the  sympathy 
of  churches  with  each  other  was,  in  part,  their  strength. 
The  next  year  they  united,  three  in  number,  as  the  Cooks- 
town  Quarterly  Meeting. 

The  commencement  of  our  interest  in  northwestern 
Pennsylvania  may  be  thus  stated:  A  few  members  of 
a  Methodist  church  in  Delaware,  Mercer  county,  were 
speaking  of  their  dissatisfaction  with  some  of  the  doc- 
trines and  usages  of  the  church,  when  they  were  surprised 
to  learn  that  some  of  them  had  been  FreewUl  Baptists 
in  Maine,  and  others  in  New  Hampshire.  They  left  the 
church,  and  established  a  meeting  of  their  own  in  1824. 
Not   knowing  that  there  was  a  minister  of  their   faith 


1829.]  REVITAL   IN  BEDFORD   COUNTY.  419 

within  two  hundred  miles,  they  prayed  God  to  direct  one 
hither.  James  Peters  soon  visited  them  as  a  Freewill 
Baptist  (of  whose  previous  history  we  know  nothing) , 
and  a  church  was  organized  with  which  he  settled.  An- 
other was  formed  in  Sadsbury,  about  the  same  time,  and 
one  in  Wayne,  Ohio,  a  little  previous  to  this.  A  notice 
appeared  in  the  March  number  of  the  Religious  Informer, 
of  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  Wayne  the  28th  and  29th  of 
May,  for  the  organization  of  a  Quarterly  Meeting.  The 
meeting  was  held,  the  Wayne  Quarterly  Meeting  was 
then  formed,  and  the  September  report  says  it  consisted 
of  the  three  churches  above  named.  Churches  were  soon 
formed  in  Harlandsburg  and  Sugar  Creek,  and  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting  was  divided  some  eight  years  after.  The 
churches  in  Pennsylvania  were  organized  as  the  Crawford 
Quarterly  Meeting,  and  those  in  Ohio  as  the  Ashtabula 
Quarterly  Meeting.  In  the  autumn  of  1826,  Samuel 
Wire,  from  New  York,  spent  a  few  months  in  this  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  and  was  a  great  help  to  the  feeble  churches. 

In  1827  Rev.  Asa  Dodge  spent  the  summer  months  in 
the  Gibson  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  additions  were  made 
to  every  church  save  one.  Never  had  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  experienced  a  more  general  revival,  or  seen 
greater  prosperity.  But  the  churches  were  few  and  fee- 
ble, and  a  correspondent  of  the  Morning  Star  gives  us  the 
following  glimpse  of  their  destitution  in  1829  :  "  The 
number  of  Freewill  Baptists  among  professed  Christians 
in  this  region  of  country  is  comparatively  small ;  and  they 
do  not,  by  any  means,  enjoy  the  advantages  of  their  breth- 
ren in  the  East.  Here  no  Baptist  steeple  attracts  the 
eye  of  the  traveller,  and  no  bell  tells  the  hour  of  meeting  ; 
but  a  school  house,  dwelling  house,  or  barn,  affords  them 
a  place  to  worship  Him  who  had  not  where  to  lay  his 
head." 

In  Bedford  county,  bordering  on  Maryland,  was  a  very 
precious  revival  of  eight  month's  continuance.  Rev.  Joshua 
Newbold,  from  Cookstown,   seventy  miles  west  of  this, 


420  PENNSYLVANIA.  [1829. 

labored  successfully  in  the  revival,  and  added  thirty  to  the 
Dunning  Creek  church.  D.  P.  Lowe  was  ordained  here, 
and  was  pastor  of  the  church  for  eight  years. 

Churches  Organized.  In  1820,  Jackson,  and  Stoney 
Fork;  '25,  Delaware,  Harlandsburg,  and  Sadsbury ;  '26, 
Janner,  and  Sugar  Creek  ;  '28,  Dunning  Creek ;  '29, 
Deerfield. 

Ordinations.  In  1826,  Joshua  Newbold  ;  '27,  William 
E.  Robinson;  '28,  James  McCall;  '29,  D.  P.  Lowe. 
The  year  in  which  John  Borden  was  oi'dained  is  un- 
known. 


1820.]  MAKCFS   KILBORN.  421 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
OHIO  AND  INDIANA. 

1820—1830. 

Marcus  Kilborn — ^First  Church  in  Indiana — Moses  Dudley— iMaineville 
— Collins  in  Northern  Ohio — David  Marks — Huron  Quarterly  Meeting 
— Marks  in  Southern  Ohio — Athens  Quarterly  Meeting — Dudley  at  Big 
Island — Dudley  Visits  Kilborn — Miami  Quarterly  Meeting — Death  of 
Towne — Northeastern  Ohio — John  Cheney — Church  at  Conneaut — 
Marks  spends  1825  in  Ohio — Marion  Quarterly  Meeting — The  Yearly 
Meeting — Kilborn  Itinerates — ^Yearly  Meeting  at  Maineville — Alexan- 
der Sebastian — Elias  Hutchins — Delegates  to  General  Conference — 
Huron  Quarterly  Meeting — United  Baptists — Medina  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing— ^Rathburn  joins  the  Campbellites — ^Wayne  Quarterly  Meeting — 
Churches  Organized — Ordinations — Death. 

Marcus  Kilborn  was  a  native  of  Connecticut,  experienc- 
ed religion  in  western  New  York,  and  the  next  year, 
1817,  removed  to  southern  Ohio,  where  he  imnaediatelj 
commenced  preaching.  For  three  years,  his  labors  there, 
in  connection  with  those  of  Rev.  Rufus  Cheney,  were  suc- 
cessful. He  was  ordained  in  the  year  1820,  and,  in  July, 
embarked  in  an  open  boat,  with  his  wife  and  a  little  furni- 
tvire,  down  the  Ohio,  and  settled  near  Rising  Sun,  Indiana, 
some  forty  miles  below  Cincinnati.  The  Saviour  was  too 
precious  to  be  enjoyed  by  him  alone,  and  he  at  once  began 
to  appoint  meetings  and  preach  Christ,  the  way  of  life 
and  salvation.  Crowds  attended,  the  Spirit  of  God  gave 
efficiency  to  the  preached  word,  and  the  Bi'yant's  Creek 
church  [now  Randall],  of  five  members,  was  organized 
September  20th,  the  first  Freewill  Baptist  church  in  In- 
diana. 

36 


422  OHIO  AND   INDIANA.  [1820, 

Additions  were  made  for  a  time,  when  he  says,^  "  Op- 
position then  began,  and  the  reformation  abated,  I  was 
ordered  by  some  to  stop  preaching,  discouraged  by  others,. 
but  encouraged  by  my  Master.  I  continued  to  hold  up 
Jesus  as  the  only  possible  means  whereby  sinners  could 
be  saved.  The  Lord  was  on  my  side,  reformation  again 
commenced,  and  the  little  church  increased." 

Rev.  Moses  Dudley  says  of  Kilborn,  "  He  was  poor  as 
to  this  world's  goods,  and  often  went  many  miles  on  foot 
to  his  appointments,  leaving  his  sickly  companion  and  lit- 
tle babes  in  their  lonely  cabin.  But  she  did  not  complain  ; 
she  was  an  heir  of  glory,  and  was  called  home  to  heaven 
several  years  before  him.  Eld.  Kilborn  was  not  what  is 
generally  called  a  great  preacher,  but  he  was  a  good  one." 
If  pious  clergymen  in  our  day,  whose  salaries  supply  all 
their  necessary  wants,  whose  circumstances  enable  them 
to  enjoy  all  the  home  comforts  of  life,  and  Avhose  study 
and  parish  are  both  inviting, — if  they  receive  an  eternal 
reward,  as  they  assuredly  will,  with  hoAv  much  more  hon- 
or will  others  be  welcomed,  who  come  up  through  great 
tribulation,  having  labored  for  Christ  in  poverty,  amidst 
privations,  and  through  the  most  trying  circumstances  ! 

Severe  sickness  had  brought  Rev.  Moses  Dudley,  of 
Warren  county,  some  twenty  miles  from  Cincinnati,  to 
more  faithfulness  in  the  ministry.  Meetings  were  now  es- 
tablished at  his  own  house,  and  a  good  religious  interest 
was  awakened.  About  the  same  time,  Rev.  Ephraim 
Stephens  and  others  from  Maine,  settled  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  the  united  efforts  of  these  few  Christians  were 
blessed  to  the  conversion  of  sinners.  The  New  Lights,  or 
Christians,  were  somewhat  numerous,,  and  one  of  their 
ministers  proposed  a  union  church,  rather  than  the  multi- 
plication of  sects.  But  the  doctrines  of  the  Freewill  Bap- 
tists were  dear  to  these  men,  because  they  are  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible  ;  and  the  displays  of  Divine  grace  they  had 
witnessed  in  Maine,  assured  them  that  the  God  of  the 
'  Religious  Informer,  Vol.  v.,  p.  83. 


1822.]  MARKS    IN    OHIO.  423 

Freewill  Baptists  would  bless  the  same  doctrines  and 
efforts  to  the  salvation  of  men  in  Ohio.  A  church  of 
eleven  members  was  organized  February  16th,  1821. 
The  meeting  centralized  other  interests  in  the  place,  busi- 
ness and  enterprise  increased,  a  village  sprung  up,  and,  in 
memory  of  their  native  State,  it  was  called  MaineviUe. 
Thirty-five  years  after  this,  the  General  Conference  held 
its  sixteenth  session  with  this  very  church.^ 

The  next  year  Rev.  Benjamin  Tufts  and  family  came  to 
MaineviUe,  He  had  been  associated  with  Dudley,  Ste- 
vens, and  others,  iu  Phillips,  Maine,  and  their  reunion  in 
Ohio  was  exceedingly  pleasant.  A  regular  correspondence 
with  the  Farmington  Quarterly  Meeting,  in  Maine,  was 
sustained  for  several  years. 

In  the  fall  of  1821,  Rev.  Elisha  Collins,  of  western  New 
York,  came  to  northern  Ohio  to  look  after  the  churches 
planted  by  Hinkley,  nearly  three  years  before.  He  found 
the  church  in  Harrisville  without  a  meeting,  and  it  had  been 
so  for '  more  than  a  year.  The  members  were  visited 
personally,  meetings  were  held,  and  covenant  obligations 
renewed.  The  Milan  chirch  was  also  revived,  and  under 
date  of  March  22d,  1822,  he  says  in  the  Informer,  "  I 
have  baptized  nine  since  I  left  liorae,  constituted  one 
church  [Greenfield],  broken  bread  three  times,  and  attend- 
ed more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  meetings.  There  is 
not  another  ordained  Freewill  Baptist  in  this  part  of  the 
State."  These  two  churches  were  forty  miles  apart,  and 
could  not  be  frequently  visited,  his  time  being  mostly 
spent  in  Huron  county.  In  Clarksfield,  almost  every  fam- 
ily was  visited  in  mercy,  and  a  church  of  eleven  members 
was  formed. 

In  June,  David  Marks  embarked  at  Black  Rock,  N.  Y., 
for  Sandusky  City,  Ohio.  Through  storms  and  calms  he 
reached  Sandusky  bay  on  the  5th  day,  and  the  captain  re- 
fused to  land  him  at  Sandusky,  but  set  him  and  four  oth- 
ers ashore   on  the  peninsula,  six  miles  across  the  bay. 

2  It  is  called  the  Hamilton  church. 


424  OHIO   AND    INDIANA.  [1822. 

Tlie  keeper  of  the  light  house  was  the  only  person  on  the 
peninsula,  and  his  supply  of  provisions  was  nearly  ex- 
hausted. It  was  sunset,  Marks  had  eaten  but  one  meal 
for  the  last  forty  hours,  and  was  now  without  money  or 
provisions.  He  says,  "  I  lay  down  on  the  floor,  and 
closed  my  eyes  to  sleep,  hoping  to  forget  my  hunger.  But 
recollections  of  kind  brethren  in  New  York,  contrasted 
with  my  present  situation,  drove  slumber  from  my  eyes. 
When  the  men  who  landed  with  me  had  fallen  asleep,  the 
keeper,  remembering  the  poor  boy  that  had  come  far  from 
a  father's  house  to  preach  the  gospel,  brought  me  a  crack- 
er and  half  a  pint  of  milk.  This  was  a  delicious  morsel, 
and  I  received  it  with  thanksgiving."  The  next  morning 
was  pleasant,  but  how  to  reach  the  main  land  was  the 
question.  It  was  sixty  miles  round  the  bay,  through  a 
marshy  wilderness,  and  no  boat  Avas  in  sight,  or  expected 
there.  Long  and  wearisome  were  the  hours  of  that  day, 
but  their  hunger  was  allayed  by  the  broiled  meat  of  a  fawn 
they  fortunately  killed.  The  second  day  they  made  a 
dangerous  and  unsuccessful  attempt  to  cross  in  a  leaky 
old  skiff,  and  that  afternoon  a  vessel  set  them  across  to 
Cedar  Point.  Taking  his  portmanteau  on  his  shoulder, 
Marks  travelled  nine  miles  before  coming  to  a  house,  and 
three  miles  farther  brought  him  to  a  family  belonging  to 
the  Milan  church,  where  he  was  affectionately  received. 

The  three  churches  in  Huron  county  were  so  many  iso- 
lated branches,  though  all  grafted  into  the  true  vine.  To 
secure  the  counsel  and  sympathy  of  each  other,  Collins 
and  Marks  advised  them  to  associate  together  ;  conse- 
quently they  met  at  Milan,  June  29th,  and  organized  the 
Huron  Quarterly  Meeting.  About  twenty  were  pres- 
ent, and  the  next  day,  which  was  the  vSabbath,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  met  in  a  barn,  three  sermons  were  preached, 
many  exhortations  given,  and  the  Lord's  supper  adminis- 
tered. A  church  in  Greenwich  soon  united,  and  thus 
the  Quarterly  Meeting  had  an  auspicious  beginning. 

After  a  few  weeks  Marks  thought  of  visiting  the  churches 


1822.]  MARKS    IN    SOUTHER»    OHIO.  425 

in  the  south  part  of  the  State,  and  a  Methodist  brother 
kimdly  offered  him  the  use  of  a  horse  for  the  journey,  so 
he  regarded  it  as  the  will  of  Providence  that  he  should  go. 
Near  Portsmouth,  on  the  Ohio  river,  he  found  Rev.  Rufus 
Cheney,  a  lone  star  in  that  part  of  the  firmament.  Dur- 
ing the  six  years  of  his  residence  there,  he  had  been  visited 
only  two  or  three  times  by  brethren  in  the  ministry,  but 
his  church  was  prosperous,  numbering  one  hundred  and 
twelve  members,  with  branches  in  different  towns.  Dur- 
ing his  stay  of  five  days,  Marks  preached  several  times, 
and  once  sent  an  appointment  across  the  river  to  preach 
in  Kentucky.  When  the  time  arrived,  the  boat  was  oth- 
erwise employed,  and,  unwilling  to  disappoint  the  people, 
he  extricated  an  old  canoe  from  the  flood-wood,  and  seiz- 
ing a  bit  of  board  for  a  paddle,  the  adventurous  young 
man  pushed  off  into  the  stream,  nearly  half  a  mile  wid«, 
and  running  with  a  strong  current.  At  thei  risk  of  his 
life,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the  opposite  shore,  far  down 
the  stream,  and  enjoyed  great  liberty  in  preaching  to  a 
congregation,  mostly  colored  people. 

The  last  of  July  he  went  up  the  river  fifty  miles,  to 
Meigs  county,  where  Stedman  had  experienced  such  re- 
.  verses  of  fortune.  He  found  no  Freewill  Baptists  there, 
save  a  few  scattered  members  of  the  old  churches  ;  but  a 
small  church  had  been  organized  in  Alexander,  Athens 
county,  a  few  weeks  before,  by  Rev.  John  Sleeper,  who 
left  the  Christians  in  May,  and  returned  to  the  Freewill 
Baptists,  by  whom  he  had  been  licensed  in  Maine,  six 
years  before.  A  member  of  the  church.  Dr.  James  E. 
Brown,  of  Rutland,  was  now  i^rdained,  and  a  church  or- 
ganized there.  In  April,  1823,  Rev.  Eli  Towne,  from 
New  England,  visited  the  churches,  and  gave  them  and 
the  two  ministers  the  hand  of  fellowship.  He  attended 
the  Huron  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Milan,  in  June,  and,  at 
his  request,  the  two  churches  Avere  received,  though  one 
hundred  and  seventy  miles  distant.  While  he  was  negoti- 
ating their  admission  to  the  Huron  Quarterly  Meeting, 
36* 


426  OHIO   AND    INDIANA.  [1823. 

Sleeper,  of  Alexander,  and  Selah  Barrett,  of  Rutland,  af- 
terwards a  minister,  were  on  a  visit  at  Porter,  and 
arrangements  were  made  with  Rev.  Rixfus  Cheney  for  a 
meeting  at  Rutland,  in  August,  to  consider  the  propriety 
of  forming  a  Quarterly  Meeting.  The  Athens  Quarterly 
Meeting  was  probably  then  formed,  and  at  the  next  Jan- 
uary session,  it  consisted  of  four  churches,  Alexander  and 
Rutland  then  united,  Morgan,  Columbia,  and  Porter,  num- 
bering 186  members. 

At  this  time  Cheney  returned  to  New  York,  preaching- 
six  months  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  State,  and  the 
Porter  church,  left  without  a  minister,  passed  through 
many  trying  scenes.  Sleeper  became  inactive,  and  Brown 
lost  the  confidence  of  the  people,  so  that,  after  three  or 
four  years,  this  Quarterly  Meeting  lost  its  visibility.  Hoav 
sad  is  the  lesson  we  learn  when  churches  are  left  without 
a  spiritual  guide,  or  are  misguided  by  one  in  the  pastoral 
office. 

Rev.  David  Dudley  had  devoted  four  or  five  years  to 
itinerant  labors  in  southern  Ohio,  but  his  health  would  no 
longer  allow  him  to  travel  as  he  had  done,  and,  in  April, 
1822,  he  removed  to  the  interior  of  the  State,  and  settled 
in  Big  Island,  Marion  county.  A  few  Christians  were 
soon  found,  and  a  church  of  seven  members  was  organized. 
•Other  Christians,  fifteen  miles  distant,  heard  of  the  organ- 
ization, and  came  to  inquire  into  the  doctrines  and  usages 
of  the  new  church.  All  were  satisfied,  and  they  received 
the  hand  of  fellowship.  This  Avas  the  only  church,  and 
Dudley  the  only  Freewill  Baptist  minister,  within  fifty 
miles  ;  but  small  as  w^as  thjs  beginning,  it  was  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Marion  Quarterly  and  Yearly  Meet- 
ings. 

Another   interest  "^^as   now   coming   into   notice  near 

Springfield,  some  fifty  miles  to    the   southwest,   and  was 

thus  reported  ^  by  Rev.  Allen  Mead  :    "  Brother  Gilmore 

gathered  a  considerable  body  of  members  in  this  place, 

■^  Religious  Infoiiner,  Vol.  v.,  p.  54. 


1823.]  DUDLEY    VISITS    KILBORK.  427 

and  the  work  was  glorious  to  beholders.  I  royself  united 
with  this  people,  who  called  themselves  Freewill  Baptists, 
not  being  sensible  of  the  numerous  cloud  of  witnesses  we 
had  on  our  side."  Other  churches  were  soon  formed,  in 
Big  Derby  and  Harmony,  and  two  years  after  Mead  says, 
"  We  have  four  ordained  preachers  in  this  region,  the  names 
of  whom  are,  Russell  Gilmore,  Otis  Gilmore,  David  Ellis, 
and  myself." 

The  church  in  Indiana  was  enjoying  considerable  pros- 
perity, far  removed  from  all  sympathizing  friends,  and  the 
first  interview  of  Kilborn  with  Rev.  Moses  Dudley  of 
Maineville,  is  thus  given  by  the  latter :  "I  remember 
very  well  the  first  time  I  ever  saw  the  beloved  man.  It 
was  in  the  summer  of  1823.  I  had  previously  heard  that 
a  young  preacher  from  Vermont  had  gathered  a  church  in 
Indiana,  about  seventy  or  eighty  miles  from  where  I  live  ; 
and,  in  company  with  Eld.  Benjamin  Tufts,  I  set  out  to 
find  them.  After  a  tedious  journey,  as  if  directed  by  the 
Star  of  Bethlehem,  Ave  came  to  the  spot  where  they  were 
assembled  for  church  conference.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
place.  It  was  a  newly  built  cabin  ;  the  openings  between 
the  logs  were  so  great  that  the  people  could  easily  be  seen 
without  doors  or  windows.  We  drew  near.  They  were 
already  engaged  in  relating  to  each  other  the  dealings  of 
God  Avith  their  souls.  Tears  were  freely  floAving  from 
many  eyes,  while  joy  and  gladness  Avere  manifestly  felt  in 
the  heart.  On  one  side  of  the  room  sat  a  young  man  of 
pale  countenance  and  slender  form,  Avhom  I  soon  discov- 
ered to  be  their  pastor.  It  was  Eld.  Kilborn.  The  church 
at  this  time  numbered  seventy.  When  Ave  made  ourselves 
known,  the  dear  brother  and  his  little  flock  Avere  filled 
with  gladness  beyond  measure  ;  as  it  Avas  the  first  visit 
they  had  received  from  preachers  of  our  order."  ^ 

The  union  of  Hamilton  and  Bryant's  Creek  churches 
Avas  proposed,  and  January  10th,  1824,  and  Maineville, 
Ohio,  were  the  time  and  place  of  organizing  the  Miami 
■•  Morning  Star,  July  12th,  1837. 


428  OHIO   AND   INDIANA.  [1824. 

Quarterly  Meeting.  It  wsls  a  season  of  great  interest, 
numbers  felt  their  need  of  religion,  and  some  were  con- 
verted. A  little  before  this  meeting,  Rev.  Benjamin  Lea- 
vitt,  from  New  York,  settled  in  Jefferson  county,  Indiana, 
where  a  few  members  of  the  Bryant's  Creek  church  resid- 
ed, who  were  now  organized  as  a  distinct  church. 

The  western  Quarterly  Meetings — Huron  and  Miami — 
began  to  consider  the  question  of  a  Yearly  Meeting,  The  ter- 
ritory was  large,  extending  from  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  on 
the  north,  to  the  Indiana  bank  of  the  Ohio  on  the  south,  a 
distance  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  But  the  resolute 
men  of  that  time  and  country  would  surmount  Avhat  obstacles 
they  could  not  remove,  and  a  meeting  was  appointed  Au- 
gust 28,  1824,  at  Centre,  Marion  county.  It  convened  at 
the  house  *bf  David  Dudley,  who  was  chosen  moderator, 
and  the  ministers  present  were,  Marcus  Kilborn,  Moses 
Dudley,  David  Dudley,  Samuel  Bradford,  David  Marks, 
John  West,  N,  Brown,  Allen  Mead,  and  Russell  Gilmore. 
The  doctrines  and  usages  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  were 
stated  by  "West,  and  in  them  "  there  was  a  perfect  agree- 
ment." On  the  vote  to  establish  the  Ohio  Yearly  Meeting 
there  was  not  a  dissenting  voice,  and  after  the  organization 
was  effected,  sermons  were  preached  by  Bro\\'n,  Mead, 
Gilmore  and  David  Dudley.  It  was  held  at  the  same  place 
October  8th,  the  next  year,  when  it  consisted  of  three 
Quarterly  Meetings,  ten  ordained  ministers,  tliirteen  small 
churches,  and  the  number  of  members  did  not  exceed  three 
hundred. 

Rev.  Eli  Towne,  like  a  meteor  flashing  across  the  sky, 
appears  for  a  moment,  and  is  gone.  He  came  into  notice 
at  the  New  Hampshire  Yearly  Meeting  in  1822,  where 
he  was  ordained,  spent  a  few  months  in  Rhode  Island, 
was  in  Ohio  early  the  next  year,  made  a  flying  trip  to 
New  York,  thence  to  Detroit,  and  arrived  at  Cincinnati 
September  23d.  He  was  taken  sick  the  same  night,  was 
removed  from  the  public  house  to  the  residence  of  .a  wid- 
ow lady,  where  he  was  well  nursed,  and  where  he  died 


1825.]  MARKS    IN    OHIO.  429 

October  3d.  Though  among  strangers,  he  made  himself 
known  to  a  clergyman,  who  said  to  his  friends,  "  He  wished 
to  live  on  account  of  his  family,  and  also  to  do  more  in  the 
vineyard  of  the  Lord." 

John  Colby  had  preached  a  few  sermons  in  the  corner 
of  the  State  adjacent  to  Pennsylvania,  in  1810  ;  Avery 
Moulton  spent  a  few  weeks  there  in  1816,  Eufus  Cheney 
was  there  a  few  months  on  his  way  to  New  York,  but 
there  Avas  left  no  enduring  trace  of  their  transient  labors. 
A  faint  light  now  glimmers  in  that  distant  horizon,  where 
James  Peters  and  others  were  holding  meetings.  A 
church  was  organized  in  Wayne,   Ashtabula  county,   in 

1824,  which,  with  a  few  churches  in  Pennsylvania,  united 
in  forming  the  Wayne  Quarterly  Meeting  the  next  year. 
A  revival  followed  in  Wayne,  and  not  less  than  one  hun- 
dred professed  themselves  to  be  Christians  ;  and  Horace 
Morse,  one  of  the  number,  immediately  commenced  preach- 
ing.    A  two  days'  meeting  was  held  at  Poland,  in  June, 

1825,  and  Rev.  John  Cheney  was  present,  with  his  wife, 
who  was  an  able  exhorter.  He  had  been  preaching  at 
Conneaut  for  a  few  years  with  great  success,  but  sustained 
no  denominational  relation  at  this  time,  having  withdrawn 
from  the  Christians  the  year  before.  He  was  soon  receiv- 
ed into  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  a  church  was  organized 
in  Conneaut  the  next  year,  with  which  he  united.  That 
was  just  thirteen  years  before  the  General  Conference  was 
held  there. 

A  church  of  seven  members  was  organized  in  Williams- 
field,  by  James  Mugg,  and  this  was  followed  by  one  hundred 
conversions.  Many  were  the  trials  through  which  this 
Quarterly  Meeting  was  called  to  pass,  but  the  sorest  of  all 
was  the  fall  of  Peters,  its  founder. 

Marks  spent  the  most  of  this  year  in  Ohio,  and  taught 
school  one  term  in  York,  Sandusky  county,  where  he 
preached  often,  and  saw  a  church  organized.  The  last  of 
March  he  went  to  Marion  county,  sixty  miles  to  the  south, 
and,  arriving  at  Big  Island  Sabbath  morning,  he  found  a 


430  OHIO  AND  INDIANA.  [1826. 

large  assembly  listening  to  a  discourse  from  David  Dud- 
ley. He  had  labored  here  through  hope  and  fear  for  two 
and  a  half  years,  and  thus  expressed  himself  to  his  broth- 
er, Rev.  Thomas  Dudley,  of  Maine,  ten  years  afterwards  : 
"  I  often  became  almost  discouraged.  At  other  times  the 
prospect  appeared  better  ;  but  the  night  seemed  so  long  I 
grew  impatient.  I  prayed  to  God  for  a  revival,  and  felt 
determined  to  leave  if  I  did  not  see  the  desire  of  my  soul ; 
but,  glory  to  God  foi-ever,  in  December,  1824,  the  Lord 
began  to  work  in  power.  This  was  a  happy  winter  to 
many  souls,  and  we  have  had  good  seasons  ever  since." 
The  church  numbered  fifty  at  this  time,  and  revivals  were 
in  progress  in .  other  towns.  Marks  here  engaged  in 
teaching  again,  though  he  preached  two  or  three  times 
every  week,  and  quite  a  number  were  converted. 

There  were  four  churches  in  the  immediate  locality, — 
Big  Island,  Marion,  Centre,  and  Marlborough — and  in 
August  they  met  by  delegation  with  the  last-named  church 
in  Norton  village,  and  organized  the  Marion  Quarterly 
Meeting.  There  were  two  ministers,  David  Dudley,  and 
Samuel  Bradford  from  New  York  ;  and  Marks  was  pres- 
ent, just  recovering  from  a  fever,  and  preached  an  hour, 
sitting  in  a  chair.  The  church  in  Norton  was  formed  in 
1820,  and  was  visited  by  Dudley  in  1824,  and  reorganized  as 
a  Freewill  Baptist  church.  There  were  now  five  Quarterly 
Meetings  in  Ohio,  situated  in  the  north,  northeast,  south- 
east, southwest,  and  central  parts  of  the  State. 

Kilborn  was  now  advised  to  give  himself  to  itinerant 
labors,  as  he  desired,  and  he  was  the  more  inclined  to  do 
so,  since  the  two  churches  in  Indiana  could  be  cared  for 
by  Leavitt  and  Sebastian.  He  located  his  family  at  Maine- 
ville,  Ohio,  and  from  that  place,  as  the  base  of  his  opera- 
tions, he  went  out  as  Providence  seemed  to  direct.  The 
service  he  performed  for  several  years  in  the  infancy  of  our 
cause  there,  has  no  record  save  on  high,  and  cannot  now 
be  appreciated. 

The  Yearly  Meeting  held  its  third  session  at  Maine- 


1827.]  HUTCHINS'    LABORS,  431 

ville,  in  October,  182&.  Sermons  were  preaclied  by  John 
and  David  Dudley  on  Friday,  and  the  social  meeting  in 
the  evening  was  one  of  great  interest.  The  business  was 
transacted  the  next  day,  aiad  the  trying  labor  with  Alex- 
ander Sebastian  resulted  in  his  exclusion,  but  he  refused 
to  surrender  his  credentials,  and,  continuing  to  preach  as 
a  Freewill  Baptist,  he  brought  the  name  in  Indiana  into 
great  disrepute. 

Kilborn  gave  an  encouraging  report  of  his  labors,  par- 
ticularly in  "  the  Scioto  country,"  where  he  found  "  the 
brethren  well  engaged."  The  report  from  Marion  Quar- 
terly Meeting  was  refreshing  ;  in  addition  to  revivals,  two 
churches  had  been  received.  The  meeting  on  Sunday  was 
interesting,  and  on  Monday  the  clerk  says,  "  We  met  at 
eight  o'clock,  David  Dudley  preached,  sinners  wept,  saints 
rejoiced,  and  many  witnessed  for  Jesus.  We  then  broke 
bread  and  washed  feet." 

Rev.  Elias  Hutchins  left  Maine  in  November,  and  spent 
a  year  and  a  half  in  the  Ohio  Yearly  Meeting.  The  life 
of  an  itinerant  preacher  in  a  new  country,  is  a  hard  one 
for  a  man  in  feeble  health,  but  Hutchins  never  consulted 
ease,  but  duty.  His  labors  were  blessed  in  the  Marion 
Quarterly  Meeting,  especially  in  connection  Avith  the  Feb- 
ruary session  at  Marion  in  1827»  People  who  have  lived 
or  travelled  in  the  West,  before  roads  were  made  or 
streams  bridged,  will  understand  why  "a  great  rain" 
prevented  the  attendance  of  delegates  the  first  day.  Hutch- 
ins alone  was  there  with  the  church,  but  others  came  the 
next  morning,  and  the  pleasant  meeting  was  about  to 
close  Avithout  any  manifestations  of  saving  power.  The 
thought  was  painful,  the  crisis  had  come,  Christians 
cried  mightily  to  God,  he  ansAvered,  and  sinners  AA'^ere  con- 
verted. 

Equally  successful,  and  more  extended,  Avere  his  labors 
in  the  Miami  Quarterly  Meeting.  The  church  at  Bry- 
ant's Creek  had  suffered  greatly  from  the  Avicked  course  of 
its  former  pastor  ;  but  the  September  session  of  the  Quar- 


432  OHIO  AND   INDIANA.  [1827. 

terly  Meeting  there  revived  their  hopes  ;  and  the  continued 
labors  of  Hutchins  through  the  winter  restored  the  church 
to  pviblic  confidence. 

As  the  Yearly  Meeting  at  Big  Island  was  approaching, 
in  October,  he  set  out  on  horseback  with  Kilborn  and 
Moses  Dudley,  and  says,  "  The  satisfaction  we  experienced 
in  the  meeting  more  than  compensated  for  the  fatigue  of 
a  journey  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles."  The  Quar- 
terly Meetings  were  all  represented  by  letter  and  delega- 
tion, and  were  never  in  a  more  prosperous  condition. 
The  meeting  was  held  at  the  same  time  with  the  First 
General  Conference  in  Vermont,  and,  to  be  ready  for  the 
next  session,  Kilborn,  Hutchins,  and  David  Dudley  were 
now  chosen  as  delegates. 

After  the  Yearly  Meeting,  Hutchins  performed  another 
journey  of  eighty  miles  to  attend  the  Huron  Quarterly 
Meeting  at  Green  Creek.  All  was  dark  through  the  meet- 
ing till  Sabbath  evening,  when  light  broke  in  upon  the 
praying  band,  a  revival  followed,  and  John  Mugg  contin- 
ued his  labors  with  the  church. 

Speaking  of  his  labors  at  this  time,  Hutchins  says, 
"  Here,  as  in  Maine,  I  have  generally  visited  destitute 
churches,  feeling  it  more  my  duty  to  do  so,  than  to  form 
churches  and  leave  them  to  die."  This  was  the  labor 
most  needed  in  all  parts  of  the  denomination.  The  num- 
ber of  feeble,  neglected,  dying  churches,  was  painful  to 
contemplate.  Few  of  them  enjoyed  pastoral  labor,  and 
there  was  no  system  in  itinerant  labors.  A  church  might 
be  visited  by  different  ministers  the  same  week,  and  it 
might  be  pased  by  for  months,  and  even  years. 

At  the  November  session  of  the  Marion  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing in  Harmony,  Clark  county,  the  residence  of  Bradford, 
a  delegation  was  received  from  the  United  Baptists,  a 
small  body  of  Christians  in  that  vicinity,  who  had  mostly 
left  the  Calvinistic  Baptists.  In  doctrine  and  sympathy 
they  were  more  in  unison  with  FreeAvill  Baptists,  than 
with  any  other  sect,  and  the  delegation  was  kindly  received, 


1828.]  WAYNE   QUARTERLY   MEETING.  433 

and  the  proposed  correspondence  favorably  entertained, 
but  the  subject  was  referred  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  for  final 
action. 

"  As  ye  go,  'preach,"  was  the  Divine  injunction,  and 
never,  since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  have  the  servants  of 
Jesus  observed  it  more  faithfully  than  did  the  early  Free- 
will Baptists.  Travelling  on  the  lake  shore  between  the 
Wayne  and  Huron  Quarterly  Meetings,  the  pioneer  minis- 
ters in  northern  Ohio  preached  wherever  they  stopped  for 
an  hour,  if  a  congregation,  however  small,  could  be  gath- 
ered to  hear.  Others,  landing  at  Cleveland,  would  go 
out  into  the  settlements  around,  and  add  "  line  upon  line  " 
to  the  labors  of  those  who  had  preceded  them.  The  re- 
sult was,  three  churches  had  been  gathered — Harris ville, 
Liverpool,  and  Strongville — and  June  2d,  1827,  they 
united  and  formed  the  Strongville  [Medina]  Quarterly 
Meeting.  Allen  Mead  and  Russell  Gilmore  were  the 
council. 

A  revival  commenced  in  Rutland,  Meigs  county,  near 
the  close  of  1828,  in  which  most  of  the  youth  professed 
religion,  and  the  church  was  greatly  strengthened.  Rath- 
burn  Avas  encouraged,  but,  instead  of  continuing  to  en- 
courage the  church,  he  left  and  joined  the  Campbellites 
the  next  year. 

The  Wayne  Quarterly  Meeting  had  many  discourage- 
ments ;  churches  and  Christians  were  not  only  opposed  by 
the  wicked,  but  were  generally  regarded  by  the  good,  as 
only  transient  lights.  It  was  felt  that  something  must  be 
done  to  secure  public  confidence  in  their  permanency  as 
churches  and  as  a  denomination.  They  had  received  sym- 
pathy and  ministerial  assistance  from  the  Holland  Pur- 
chase Yearly  Meeting,  the  one  of  easiest  access,  and  it 
was  agreed  to  ask  admission  to  that  body.  Nathaniel 
Brown,  who  had  visited  them  a  few  times,  advocated 
their  cause,  and  enlisted  more  deeply  the  Yearly  Meeting 
in  their  behalf.  A  committee,  with  full  discretionary 
power,  consisting  of  Bignall,  Grinold,  Straight,  and  Miner, 
37 


434  OHIO  AND   INDIANA.  [1829 

met  the  Quarterly  Meeting  at  Salem,  and  found  seven 
churches,  having  from  twelve  to  thirty  members  each,  and 
four  ministers — Horace  Morse,  John  Cheney,  P.  H.  Wood, 
and  William  Whitman — whom  they  approved.  The  Quar- 
terly Meeting  was  then  pronounced  a  member  of  the  Hol- 
land Purchase  Yearly  Meeting. 

Churches  Obganized.  In  1820,  Marlborough,  and 
Bryant's  Creek,  la.  ;  '21  Hamilton  ;  '22,  Alexander,  Big 
Derby,  Big  Island,  Clarksfield,  Greenfield,  and  Harmony  ; 
'23,  Columbia,  and  Morgan  ;  and  Jefferson,  la.  ;  '24, 
Wayne  ;  '25,  Williamsfield,  and  York  ;  '26,  Conneaut, 
Lebanon,  and  New  Lyme  ;  '27,  Marion,  and  Strongville. 

Ordinations.  In  1820,  Marcus  Kilborn ;  '21,  John 
Sleeper  ;  '22,  James  E.  Brown,  and  Allen  Mead  ;  '23, 
Alexander  Sebastian,  la. ;  '25,  J,  Wheeler ;  '26,  Horace 
Morse  ;  '27,  Samuel  D.  Wyatt.  We  do  not  know  in  what 
year  John  Dudley,  John  Mugg,  and  William  Whitman, 
were  ordained. 

The  death  of  Eli  Towne,  in  1823,  was  the  only  one  in 
this  decade. 


1827.]  CHURCH   POLITY,  435 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

THE  GENERAL   CONFERENCE. 

FIRST  THREE   SESSIONS. 

1827—1829. 

Gradual  Development  of  Church  Polity — A  General  Conference  of  Eld- 
ers— General  Conference  Proposed — Preliminary  Steps — First  Session. 
— Peep  at  Conference — Business — Church  Polity — Ministry — Ordina- 
tion of  Colored  Men — Itinerant  Ministry — Doctrines  Published — To- 
bey's  Approval — Second  Session — Delegates — Atonement — Itinerancy 
— Independent  Methodists — Randall  Estate — Free  Masonry — History 
of  the  Freewill  Baptists — Third  Session — ^Business — Meetings  of  Wor- 
ship—Sermon by  Place. 

The  polity  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  has  been  gradually 
developed,  as  their  increasing  numbers  and  changing  cir- 
cumstances have  required.  Randall  had  no  plan  of  opera- 
tions originally  matured,  for  the  denomination  had  its 
origin  in  the  providences  of  God,  and  not  the  purposes  of 
man.  The  first  churches  were  entirely  independent,  and 
bound  together  only  by  the  internal  tie  of  Christian  sym- 
pathy, and  the  external  pressure  of  cruel  opposition.  After 
three  and  a  half  years,  they  united  in  a  Quarterly  Meet- 
ing ;  and,  in  doing  so,  each  church  surrendered  a  part  of 
its  former  independence,  and  received  the  counsel,  cooper- 
ation, and  support  of  all  others.  This  was  a  wise  ar- 
rangement ;  but,  after  eight  and  a  half  years  more,  it  was 
found  that  the  increasing  wants  and  number  of  the  churches 
required  more  frequent  sessions  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
in  the  same  locality,  and  in  1792,  those  churches  that 
could  be  conveniently  grouped  together,  began  to  unite  as 


436  GENERAL  CONFERENCE.  [1827. 

a  local  Quarterly  Meeting.  At  the  same  time,  the  for- 
merly established  Quarterly  Meeting  became  a  Yearly 
Meeting,  holding  an  annual  session  in  four  different  places. 
By  this  arrangement,  when  perfected,  churches  were 
amenable  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  reported  to  it ; 
and  Quarterly  Meetings  were  amenable  to  the  Yearly 
Meeting,  and  reported  to  it.  All  were  satisfied,  and  this 
was  the  polity  for  thirty-five  years. 

When  the  denomination  had  so  enlarged  its  field  of 
operations  as  to  have  seven  Yearly  Meetings,  with  church- 
es in  nine  different  States,  and  four  British  Provinces, 
"  there  were  no  means  of  obtaining  a  report  from  the  en- 
tire body,  of  securing  harmony  in  doctrine,  uniformity  in 
practice,  or  concert  in  action."  In  fact,  there  was  no  rep- 
resentative body  that  could  speak  for  the  denomination,  as 
the  Quarterly  Meeting  and  Yearly  Meeting  once  could. 
In  our  civil  polity,  towns  grouped  into  counties,  and  coun- 
ties into  States,  answered  not  the  demands  of  subsequent 
times,  but  a  Union  of  the  States  was  required  for  their 
highest  prosperity  and  sure  defence.  So  in  church  polity, 
a  general  meeting  was  yet  wanting  to  perfect  the  system. 
Randall  foresaw  this,  and  suggested,  in  a  letter  to  the 
New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  in  1805,  that  a  "  General 
Conference  of  all  the  Elders"  be  established.  The  subject 
was  considered,  referred  to  the  Yearly  Meeting,  and  a 
Conference  of  all  the  ministers  was  annually  held  in  con- 
nection with  the  November  session  of  the  Yearly  Meeting. 
This  was  useful,  but  never  answered  the  purpose  designed, 
and  was  discontinued. 

Twenty  years  later,  the  subject  came  up  in  another 
light,  and  a  delegated  body  was  proposed,  whose  authority 
should  be  derived  from  the  churches,  rather  than  the  min- 
istry. Some  were  jealous  of  the  central  povv^er  in  the 
church,  as  many  were  in  the  nation,  and  their  fears  that 
this  conference  would  become  a  legislative  body,  and  crip- 
ple the  independence  of  the  churches,  led  all  to  contemplate 
the  subject  with  caution. 


1827.]  PRELIMINAET   STEPS.  437 

The  first  direct  action  towards  the  establishment  of  the 
General  Conference,  was  at  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Sand- 
wich, N.  H.,  in  1826.  Rev.  Enoch  Place  submitted  the 
following  question,  and  moved  an  affirmative  answer, 
which  was  seconded  by  Rev.  John  Buzzell :  "  Is  it  expe- 
dient to  make  any  alteration  in  the  present  arrangement  of 
the  Yearly  Meetings,  and  to  establish  a  G-eneral  Yearly 
Conference  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  ?"  The  question 
was  freely  discussed,  and  it  was  generally  admitted  that 
the  present  arrangement  had  many  disadvantages,  bu^the 
question  was  finally  postponed  to  a  future  session.  At 
the  Yearly  Meeting  in  Parsonsfield,  Maine,  in  November, 
this  question  was  called  up,  and  referred  to  a  committee 
of  twelve,  consisting  of  Rev.  Messrs.  John  Buzzell,  John 
Foster,  Enoch  Place,  Zachariah  Jordan,  Samuel  Burbank, 
Ziba  Pope,  Thomas  Moxley,  Jeremiah  Bullock,  Andrew 
Hobson,  Henry  Hobbs,  and  Deacons  Samuel  Moulton  and 
Winborn  A.  Drew.  The  committee  recommended^  that 
the  churches  continue  to  report  to  the  Quarterly  Meetings, 
and  the  Quarterly  Meetings  to  the  Yearly  Meeting,  as 
heretofore.  That  there  be  two  distinct  Yearly  Meetings 
in  Maine,  and  one  in  each  of  the  following  States,  viz. : 
New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and 
Ohio.  And  that  each  Yearly  Meeting  choose  delegates  to 
compose  a  General  Conference,  the  first  session  of  which 
shall  be  held  at  Tunbridge,  Vt.,  the  next  October.  The 
report  was  unanimously  adopted,  and  the  proposition  was 
received  with  great  favor  throughout  the  denomination. 

The  authority  of  Conference  was  not  well  defined  at 
first,  but  it  was  always  understood  to  have  no  power  to 
reverse  the  decisions  of  churches,  Quarterly  Meetings  and 
Yearly  Meetings.  It  could  declare  the  faith  and  usage  of 
the  denomination,  recommend  whatever  might  seem  ad- 
visable, and  act  upon  any  communication  properly  pre- 
sented,  provided   it  came   within   its  jurisdiction.     The 

^  See  Minutes  of  the  General  Conference,  p.  14. 

37* 


438  GENERAL   CONFERENCE.  [1827. 

Constitution  and  By-Laws  were  not  adopted  till  several 
years  after  its  organization. 

Delegates  were  chosen  at  the  next  Yearly  Meetings, 
and  the  First  General  Conference  convened  at  Tunbridge, 
Vt.,  on  Thursday,  October  11,  1827.  Nineteen  delegates 
were  present  from  New  England,  and  one  from  New 
York ;  the  whole  number  of  ministers  being  about  thirty. 
The  meeting  was  called  to  order  by  Nathaniel  King,  resi- 
dent of  the  place,  and  Jonathan  Woodman  addressed  the 
thr#De  of  grace. 

The  establishment  of  the  General  Conference  was  a 
marked  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  denomination  ;  and  let 
us  look  in  upon  that  body  as  first  organized.  In  the  Chair 
sits  a  man,  large  and  dignified,  a  little  rising  forty  years  of 
age.  He  speaks,  and  a  strong,  heavy  voice  fills  the  house. 
Rev.  Enoch  Place  presides  without  embarrassment.  At 
the  table  sits  a  young  man,  whose  culture  of  the  mind  has 
not  congealed  the  emotions  of  the  heart.  It  was  a  judi- 
cious selection  that  placed  Hosea  Quinby  as  Clerk  of 
Conference,  though  both  officers  are  from  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

On  the  floor  are  four  men  under  thirty  years  of  age — 
Daniel  Jackson  and  Samuel  Robbins  from  Maine,  Arthur 
Caverno  from  New  Hampshire,  and  Horatio  N.  Loring 
from  Rhode  Island.  The  next  in  years  is  Jonathan  Wood- 
man of  Vermont.  His  age  is  thirty,  his  utterances  im- 
pressive, and  his  promise  good.  Andrew  Hobson,  of 
Maine,  is  an  unobtrusive,  but  understanding  man,  of  thir- 
ty-two. That  expression  of  kindness  and  that  ease  of 
manners,  are  the  characteristics  of  Zalmon  Tobey,  from 
Rhode  Island.  He  is  a  man  of  scholarly  attainments,  a 
ready  speaker,  and  has  seen  a  score  and  fifteen  years. 
Of  the  same  age  is  another,  large  and  well-proportioned, 
whose  intellect  is  massive  rather  than  brilliant,  and  whose 
efforts  are  practical  rather  than  speculative.  The  busi- 
ness  tact   of  Samuel  Burbank,    Resident  Editor   of  the 


1827.]  A  PEEP  AT  CONFERENCE.  439 

Morning  Star,  gives  him  position  as  a  leader  in  Con- 
ference. Dea.  Joseph  Drew  is  a  worthy  man  from  Maine  ; 
and  Col.  Charles  Morse,  from  the  same  State,  is  one  of 
the  most  efficient  laymen  in  the  denomination.  The  tall, 
spare  man,  of  becoming  modesty  and  excellent  spirit, 
aged  thirty-eight ;  and  the  short,  thick  man,  of  good  judg- 
ment and  retiring  manners,  a  dozen  years  older,  are  two 
of  the  New  Hampshire  delegates — Nathaniel  Berry  and 
John  D.  Knowles. 

The  sharp  features  and  penetrating  eye  of  John  Foster 
indicate  his  keen  perception  and  great  discernment  of 
character.  In  the  prime  of  life — aged  forty-five — he  is 
prominent  in  Conference,  as  well  as  at  home,  in  the  Maine 
Eastern  Yearly  Meeting.  The  man  of  active  turn,  who 
looks  so  closely  after  the  wants  of  every  delegate  during 
his  stay  in  Tunbridge,  is  George  Hackett,  of  forty-six 
years,  and  pastor  of  the  church.  Four  years  older  than 
he  is  Ziba  Pope,  also  from  Vermont ;  a  man  of  substantial 
mind  and  revival  gift.  In  that  tall,  noble-looking  man  of 
sixty  years,  may  be  recognized  the  temporary  chairman  of 
Conference,  Nathaniel  King.  Of  more  than  medium  size, 
symmetrical  in  form  and  intellectual  in  development,  is  one 
whose  pleasant  face,  sonorous  voice,  and  easy  manners, 
are  prepossessing.  The  freshness  of  youth  is  on  his  cheek, 
and  the  vivacity  of  early  manhood  sparkles  in  his  eye ; 
but  he  has  seen  a  unit  more  than  sixty  years.  No  man 
directs  the  helm  of  business  more  than  John  Buzzell,  of 
Maine. 

■  The  two  oldest  men  in  Conference  are  both  sixty -two, 
rich  in  experience  and  strong  in  influence.  Timothy 
Morse,  of  New  Hampshire,  is  of  common  stature,  stout 
and  impulsive.  Nathaniel  Brown,  of  New  York,  is  tall, 
spare  and  discerning.  The  former  has  great  originality, 
and  is  rough  and  strong  as  the  granite  of  his  own  native 
hills.  The  latter  has  a  well-balanced  mind,  but  no  mark- 
ed characteristics.  If  great  force  of  character  enables 
Morse  to  storm  the  citadel,  and  compel  sinners  to  capitu- 


440  GENERAL    CONFERENCE.  [1827. 

late,  a  practical  knowledge  of  human  nature  enables  Brown 
to  secure  the  same  end  by  influences  more  unobserved. 
As  you  read  their  physiognomy,  the  former  is  strong  and 
the  latter  is  good.  As  you  recount  their  successful  labors, 
they  are  both  known  to  be,  not  only  strong  and  good,  but 
the  favored  servants  of  God. 

These  were  the  men  that  constituted  the  First  General 
Conference.  Their  wisdom  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  they 
attempted  but  little,  yet  accomplished  much.  The  sessions 
were  held  morning  and  evening,  the  afternoon  being  de- 
voted to  meetings  of  worship.  Reports  were  received 
from  the  Yearly  Meetings,  generally  written,  with  verbal 
remarks  by  the  delegates  ;  and  this  intelligence,  being 
historical,  revival  and  statistical,  was,  most  of  it,  exceed- 
ingly interesting.  AU  business  introduced  was  referred 
to  appropriate  committees,  and  in  the  action  upon  their 
reports  consisted  the  principal  business  of  Conference. 
The  reader  will  find  all  those  acts  in  the  "  Minutes  of 
Conference,"  a  volume  of  450  pages,  to  which  he  is  re- 
ferred, as  it  is  the  design  of  this  chapter  to  give  only  the 
historical  incidents,  and  a  glance  at  the  business  transac- 
tions. 

It  was  agreed  that  regeneration  and  baptism  were  es- 
sential to  church  membership  ;  that  each  church  should 
have  full  authority  to  discipline  its  own  members  ;  but  a 
minister  should  not  be  received  or  excluded  without  the 
advice  of  an  Elders'  Conference,  or  a  council  of  ministers  ; 
and  that  church,  Quarterly  Meeting,  and  Yearly  Meeting 
Clerks  make  their  annual  reports  with  great  care,  giving 
full  statistics.  It  was  agreed  that  the  ministry  must  be 
experimentally  pious,  called  of  God,  led  by  the  Spirit,  and 
holy  in  life.  The  propriety  of  ordaining  a  colored  man 
came  up  by  reference  from  the  New  Durham  Quarterly 
Meeting,  as  objections  had  been  made  to  the  ordination  of 
Robert  Tash,  then  living  in  Exeter.  Conference  at  once 
trampled  the  pro-slavery  prejudice  against  color  beneath 
their  feet,  and  unanimously 


1827.]  DOCTRINES   PUBLISHED.  441 

"  JSesolved,  That  the  color  of  a  candidate  for  the  minis- 
try should  have  no  influence  on  his  ordination,  provided 
he  be  otherwise  qualified." 

Tash  was  ordained  a  fortnight  afterwards. 

The  pastoral  relation  had  thus  far  been  exceedingly 
loose  and  unreliable.  Ministers  were  generally  ordained 
as  evangelists,  and  churches  had  no  claim  upon  their  gra- 
tuitous labor.  There  was  an  increasing  desire  to  adopt 
some  policy  that  would  secure  to  every  church  pastoral 
labor  and  regular  meetings,  at  least  a  few  times  in  the 
year.  It  was  therefore  voted,  "  That  a  society  be  formed 
in  each  Quarterly  Meeting,  to  receive  annual  subscrip- 
tions and  donations,  and  appropriate  the  same  to  travelling 
preachers,  who  shall  be  under  the  direction  of  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting."  Most  of  the  Quarterly  Meetings  respond- 
ed to  this  recommendation  by  doing  something  towards  the 
establishment  of  an  itinerant  ministry. 

The  Morning  Star  had  been  in  successful  operation  for 
eighteen  months,  and  the  propriety  of  its  purchase  was 
seriously  contemplated,  but  there  was  no  matured  plan  for 
its  publication  by  Conference,  and  the  subject  was  post- 
poned. 

Never  w^as  a  denomination  more  traduced  than  had 
been  this,  by  self-called  and  heretical  men,  travelling 
through  the  country  as  Freewill  Baptists.  Improprieties 
and  false  doctrines  had  been  thus  palmed  ofi"  upon  the  pub- 
lic, as  the  genuine  faith  and  practice  of  the  denomination ; 
and  it  was  believed  that  an  authorized  and  published  dec- 
laration of  the  doctrines  the  Freewill  Baptists  did  believe, 
would  both  protect  themselves  and  disabuse  the  public. 
To  this  end  a  committee,  consisting  of  John  Buzzell  and 
George  Lamb  of  Maine,  Enoch  Place  and  Samuel  B. 
Dyer  of  New  Hampshire,  George  Hackett  of  Vermont, 
Reuben  Allen  of  Rhode  Island,  and  Nathaniel  Brown  of 
New  York,  was  appointed  to  report  at  the  next  Confer 
ence  a  general  statement  of  the  fundamental  doctrines 
of  the  Freewill  Baptists.     This  committee,  we  are  sorry 


442  GENERAL   CONFERENCE.  [1828, 

to  say,  was  never  called  to  take  action,  and  no  report  was 
presented. 

The  Conference  continued  through  the  week,  was  enter- 
tained with  great  liberality,  and  the  meetings  of  worship 
were  large  and  attentive.  On  Monday  the  delegates  part- 
ed in  love,  having  an  increased  attachment  to  each  other, 
and  returned  to  their  fields  of  labor  with  increased  love 
for  the  cause. 

An  editorial  in  the  next  number  of  the  Free^vill  Baptist 
Magazine,  written  by  Zalmon  Tobey,  says,  "  We  had  an- 
ticipated much  satisfaction  in  attending  these  meetings,- 
but  our  anticipations,  in  many  respects,  were  more  than 
realized.  "We  were  particularly  pleased  with  that  union 
in  sentiment,  that  steadfastness  in  the  faith,  that  fervor  of 
devotion,  that  deep  humility  of  soul,  and  the  humble  dis- 
position of  mind,  that  aspires  not  after  the  honor  that 
Cometh  from  man,  but  from  God  only,  which  we  discov- 
ered among  our  brethren.  We  do  believe,  whatever 
others  may  think,  or  whatever  others  may  say,  the  cause 
in  which  they  are  engaged  is  the  cause  of  Truth,  and 
that  it  is  their  sincere  desire  to  be  followers  of  Him  who 
was  meek  and  lowly  in  heart.  To  conclude,  we  think  we 
can  truly  say — '  Whifher  thou  goest  we  will  go  ;  and 
where  thou  lodgest  we  will  lodge  ;  thy  people  shall  be  our 
people,  and  thy  God,  our  God.  Wliere  thou  diest  will  we 
die,  and  there  will  we  be  buried.' " 

The  Second  General  Conference  convened  at  Sandwich, 
N.  H.,  October  9th,  1828.  The  location  was  a  rich, 
farming  town,  fifty  miles  north  of  Concord,  at  the  south- 
ern base  of  that  lofty  range  of  mountains,  whose  sublime 
scenery  is  the  admiration  of  the  world.  All  the  Yearly 
Meetings  were  represented  by  letter,  and  Susquehannah 
only   was   Avithout   delegates.      Conference    consisted   of 

^  He  and  Loring  were  both  recently  from  the  Calvinistic  Baptists,  and 
attended  the  Vermont  Yearly  Meeting,  as  well  as  the  General  Confer- 
ence. 


1828.]  ITINERANCY,  443 

thirty-six  members,  including  half  of  those  who  attended 
the  first  session,  and  among  the  new  members  were  Henry 
Hobbs,  Joseph  White,  Zachariah  Jordan,  John  Stevens, 
Ebenezer  Knowlton,  "Ward  Lock,  Samuel  Hutchins,  and 
Ebenezer  Scales  from  Maine  ;  Thomas  Perkins,  Samuel 
B.  Dyer,  William  Dodge,  Simeon  Dana,  and  Joshua 
Quinby  from  New  Hampshire  ;  Daniel  Quimby,  and 
Nathaniel  Bowles  from  Vermont ;  Reuben  Allen  from 
Rhode  Island  ;  David  Marks  from  New  York,  and  David 
Dudley  and  Elias  Hutchins  from  Ohio.  A  few  of  the 
m.embers  were  young  men,  Marks  being  altogether  the 
youngest,  not  quite  twenty-three  ;  but  most  of  them  were 
men  of  experience,  twenty-five  being  miore  than  forty,  and 
seven  of  thena  more  than  sixty  years  of  age.  Five  of  the 
number  had  been  members  of  the  State  Legislature  ;  the 
presiding  officer.  Rev.  Nathaniel  King,  represented  his 
town  thirteen  years. 

To  meet  the  oft-repeated  charge  that  "  Freewill  Bap- 
tists think  they  can  save  themselves,"  without  regard  to 
the  atonement,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  put  on  record 
their  faith  in  this  fundamental  doctrine  of  Christianity. 
It  was  therefore  agreed  that  the  blood  of  Christ  is  suffi- 
cient to  atone  for  all  sins,  and  the  sins  of  all  men  ;  and 
does  thus  atone  when  man  exercises  repentance  and  faith  ; 
"  so  that,  in  effect,  all  the  favors  received  by  man,  in 
time  and  eternity,  come  to  him  through  the  atonement  of 
Christ." 

What  can  be  done  for  the  support  of  indigent  preachers, 
and  the  supply  of  destitute  churches  ?  This  was  the  great 
practical  question  before  Conference,  as  indeed  it  was  at 
the  first  session.  But  nothing  more  could  now  be  done 
than  to  repeat  the  recommendations  previously  given,  that 
the  Quarterly  Meetings  establish  an  Itinerant  Ministry  ; 
and  this  was  done  in  a  series  of  resolutions,  pledging  each 
member  to  use  his  best  endeavors  to  carry  it  into  effect  in 
his  own  Quarterly  Meeting.  No  person  felt  more  deeply 
on  this  subject  than  Elias  Hutchins,  who  had  seen,  both 


444   ^  GENERAL   CONFERENCE.  [1828. 

east  and  west,  tlie  want  of  more  system  in  ministerial 
labor  with  feeble  ehurclies.  He  soon  wrote  a  long  article 
for  the  Morning  Star,  on  "  The  Necessity  of  an  Itinerant 
Ministry."  It  was  followed  by  editorial  articles,  and  the 
subject  was  discussed  in  Quarterly  Meeting  and  in  the 
churches,  in  the  pulpit,  and  at  the  fireside,  till  a  general 
interest  was  awakened.  Although  a  permanent  itinerancy 
was  not  established,  pastors  were  soon  employed  in  the 
larger  churches,  and  a  partial  itinerancy  adopted  for  the 
feebler  ones. 

A  small  body  of  independent  Methodists,  numbering 
seven  ministers  and  as  many  churches,  located  in  the  ad- 
joining parts  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  had  learned 
of  the  Freewill  Baptists,  and  proposed  a  union  with  the 
"Weare  Quarterly  Meeting.  The  proposition  was  referred 
to  the  General  Conference,  and  now  Rev.  William  Pitts 
was  present  to  renew  the  request.  An  extension  of  time 
and  farther  acquaintance  were  asked  on  the  part  of  Confer- 
ence, and  a  visit  having  been  made  them  by  Samuel  Bur- 
bank  and  J.  M.  Yearnshaw,  the  next  Conference  thought 
it  "  inexpedient  to  form  a  union." 

The  recent  death  of  Mrs.  Randall  rendered  the  owner- 
ship of  the  Randall  estate  no  longer  desirable,  and  Con- 
ference concurred  with  the  New  Hampshire  Charitable 
Society,  in  its  proposed  sale.  The  burying  ground,  and 
the  right  of  way  to  it,  was  reserved,  and  is  still  held  by  the 
New  Hampshire  Charitable  Society  intrust  for  the  denom- 
ination. 

The  Free  Mason  excitement  was  now  intense  in  New 
York  and  Vermont,  and  delegates  from  those  States  wish- 
ed an  expression  of  Conference  against  that  secret  institu- 
tion. David  Marks  went  into  the  merits  of  the  question 
in  an  able  argument,  pleading  the  necessity  of  action. 
Samuel  Burbank  advocated  the  postponement  of  the  sub- 
ject till  other  parts  of  the  denomination  were  sufficiently 
nformed  to  act  understandingly.  Others  participated  in 
the  discussion,  which  was  candid  but  earnest ;    and  the 


1829.]  THIED   SESSION.  445 

question  was  finally  postponed,  with,  the  understanding 
that  the  Yearly  Meetings  in  the  above-named  States  should 
publish  in  the  Morning  Star  such  resolutions  on  the  sub- 
ject as  they  had  adopted.^ 

The  appointment  of  an  agent  in  each  Yearly  Meeting 
for  the  sale  of  Freewill  Baptist  publications  was  recom- 
mended ;  also  abstinence  from  the  "  use  of  ardent  spirits ;" 
and  all  "  who  were  convinced  of  the  utility  of  Sabbath 
Schools,"  were  advised  to  form  them. 

By  request  from  the  Holland  Purchase  and  Susquehan- 
nah  Yearly  Meetings,  it  was  agreed  to  publish  a  History 
of  the  Freewill  Baptists,  and  Rev.  John  Buzzell  was  ap- 
pointed to  prepare  the  work.  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  examine  the  manuscript  before  publication,  but  no  copy 
was  ever  presented.  It  could  not  then  have  been  believed 
that  thirty-three  years  would  pass  away  before  such  a  his- 
tory would  be  given  to  the  world. 

The  people  in  Sandwich  did  all  in  their  power  for  the 
accommodation  of  Conference  and  the  enjoyment  of  its 
members  ;'*  and  they,  in  turn,  were  no  less  anxious  to 
benefit  the  people  spiritually.  In  several  boarding  houses 
there  was  an  increasing  religious  interest  during  Conference, 
and  the  meetings  of  worship  at  the  Centre,  every  after- 
noon and  evening,  and  frequently  in  other  parts  of  the 
town,  strengthened  the  interest,  and  one  of  the  first  con- 
vei'ts  was  Samuel  Beede,  afterwards  junior  Editor  of  the 
Morning  Star.  Elias  Hutchins  labored  there  through  the 
winter,  and  precious  was  the  revival  that  continued. 

The  Third  General  Conference  convened  at  Spafford, 
New  York,  October  10,  1829.  It  was  in  Onondaga  coun- 
ty,  a  central  part  of  the  State,  and  the  delegation,  though 

'  Morning  Star,  Vol.  iii.,  Nos,  26  and  31. 

*  The  entire  absence  of  wine  and  similiar  drinks,  from  the  table  at 
boarding  houses,  was  then  so  uncommon  that  it  called  forth  frequent 
expressions  of  commendation  from  the  guests,  and  an  editorial  allusion, 
to  the  fact  in  the  Morning  Star. 

38 


446  GENERAL   CONFERENCE.  [1829^. 

numbering  but  fifteen,  represented  every  Yearly  Meeting 
in  the  connection.  Two-thirds  of  the  number  bad  been 
members  of  previous  sessions.  Rev.  Henry  Hobbs,  of 
Maine,  was  chosen  Moderator,  and  J.  M.  Yearnshaw,  of 
Rhode  Island,  Clerk  p?'o  tern,  Hobbs  was  then  sixty-four 
years  of  age,  a  man  of  strong  mind  and  business  tact ;  and 
having  had  experience  in  State  legislation,  was  an  efficient 
presiding  officer. 

The  business  transactions  were  all  harmonious,  and, 
among  other  things,  it  was  resolved  that  "  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures are  the  primary  rule  of  faith  and  practice  for  the 
church  of  Christ,"  and  "  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Freewill 
Baptist  to  guard  with  the  utmost  vigilance  against  any  in- 
novation "  upon  this  fundamental  truth — the  removal  of 
this  "  ancient  landmark,  so  judiciously  set  up  by  the 
fathers."  It  was  agreed  that  in  the  ministry,  as  such, 
"  there  is  no  authority  for  the  government  of  the  church," 
but  it  resides  exclusively  in  the  church  itself.  In  answer 
to  the  inquiry,  "  How  far  are  the  church  and  presbytery 
dependent  on  each  other,  in  dealing  Avith  a  minister  ?" 
it  was  said,  "  They  are  dependent  through  the  whole  pro- 
cess of  labor  ;"  and  that  it  is  "injudicious"  for  a  church 
to  commence  labor  with  a  minister,  without  calling  a 
council  of  ministers  to  its  aid.  The  support  of  family 
worship,  weekly  prayer  meetings,  and  a  kneeling  attitude 
in  time  of  prayer,  were  recommended. 

No  question  elicited  greater  interest,  or  a  more  pro- 
tracted discussion  than  the  one — "  Should  a  private  labor 
be  taken  with  a  brother  according  to  Matt.  18  :  15,  17, 
when  his  offence  is  a  public  one  ;  or  should  he  be  immedi- 
ately called  to  an  account  by  the  church?"  A  large 
majority  favored  immediate  action  by  the  church. 

On  the  question  of  church  government,  Enoch  Place 
was  called  upon  to  state  the  practice  generally  observed 
in  New  England,  and  Nathaniel  Brown  to  state  the  prac- 
tice in  the  West.  Remarks  were  made  by  many  others, 
questions  were  asked  and  answered,  and  aU  were  gratified 


1829.]  SERMON  BY  PLACE.  447 

with  the  prevailing  uniformity.  Conference  closed  after 
a  session  of  five  days,  including  the  Sabbath,  by  a  few 
affectionate  remarks  by  John  Foster,  Samuel  Hutchins, 
and  Nathaniel  Brown,  and  prayer  by  Samuel  Burbank. 

The  meetings  of  worship  were  more  interesting  than 
those  of  business.  Hobbs  preached  the  opening  discourse 
Saturday  morning,  and  with  the  Sabbath  came  showers  of 
rain  ;  but  at  9  o'clock  the  house  was  filled,  and  sweet 
were  the  voice  of  prayer  and  the  songs  of  praise.  Though 
strangers  from  seven  different  States,  they  could  say,  *'  by 
one  Spirit  are  we  all  baptized  into  one  body."  After  two 
hours  of  social  worship,  Silas  Curtis,  of  Maine,  preached 
a  sermon  of  thrilling  interest.  Half  an  hour's  intermission 
having  passed,  Nathaniel  Brown,  venerable  with  age,  and 
honored  as  the  founder  of  our  interests  in  New  York,  ad- 
dressed an  attentive  and  solemn  audience.  "  Next  we 
heard  the  strong  and  mighty,"  says  the  Clerk.  Enoch 
Place  announced  as  his  text,  Jer.  12  :  5,  "If  thou  hast 
run  with  the  footmen,  and  they  have  wearied  thee,  then 
how  canst  thou  contend  with  horses  ?  and  if,  in  the  land 
of  peace,wherein  thou  trustedst,  they  wearied  thee,  then  how 
wilt  thou  do  in  the  swelling  of  Jordan  ?"  His  description 
of  the  wearisome  efforts  of  the  sinner  was  clear  and  search- 
ing ;  but  when  he  came  to  speak  of  "  the  swelling  of  Jor- 
dan," where  he  would  find  himself  struggling  in  death, 
with  no  Saviour  near,  the  scene  was  absolutely  overpow- 
ering. Says  Marks,  "  Every  eye  was  fixed  on  the  speak- 
er, till  unnumbered  faces  were  bathed  in  tears,  and  many 
frames  were  convulsed,  while  touching  groans  burst  from 
sinners'  hearts  ;  all  around  seemed  like  the  judgment." 
The  convictions  of  that  hour  were  ineffaceable,  and  many 
sought  help  in  Christ. 

Meetings  were  held  every  day  and  evening  in  the  church, 
while  Conference  was  held  in  a  school  house.  Monday 
evening,  the  business  was  quietly  progressing,  when  Place 
asked  leave  of  absence,  that  he  might  go  to  the  house  of 
worship  ;  "  for  I  have  a  message  from  the  Lord,"  said  he. 


448  GENERAL  CONFERENCE.  [1829. 

"  Go,  brother,"  was  the  unanimous  response,  "  and  our 
prayers  shall  go  with  you."  His  message  was  to  one 
whose  almost  despairing  state  had  elicited  great  sympathy 
and  many  prayers  ;  and  that  evening  did  she  praise  God 
for  a  little  light,  that  resulted  in  perfect  peace. ^  Members 
of  Conference  came  in  after  adjournment,  and  that  night 
was  a  memorable  scene.  Meetings  continued  Avith  great 
interest ;  and  Marks  tarried  there  for  a  month,  saw  forty 
converted,  and  the  church,  that  had  welcomed  Conference 
with  warm  hearts  and  open  hands,  made  strong  in  faith 
and  good  works. 

"  Mrs.  Marks  had  been  long  struggling  for  a  satisfactory  hope,  and 
Place  now  exhorted  her,  personally  and  publicly,  to  trust  in  Christ ; 
and  such  was  the  strength  of  faith  among  Christians,  and  the  manifest 
power  of  the  Spirit  to  save,  that  she  was  enabled  to  trust  and  rejoice. 


KEVlEWv  44S 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE   FIFTH   DECADE, 
1820—1830. 

Review — Statistics — Ruling  Elders — Itinerant  Ministry — -Support  of  the 
Ministry — Action  of  Quarterly  Meetings — Caverno's  Articles — Marks' 
Circular  Letter — Morses'  Report — An  Ill-Requited  Ministry — Randall's 
Sacrifices — AUen  Files — J.  W.  Darling — R.  M.  Carey — Herman  Jen- 
kins— Support  "Withheld — Wives  of  Ministers — Mrs.  Phinney — Mrs, 
Jenkins — Mrs.  Carey — The  Press — ^Religious  Informer — Religious 
Magazine  —  Hymn  Book  —  Register — ^Freewill  Baptist  Magazine — 
Morning  Star — ^Life  of  Randall — Persuasives  to  Early  Piety — Freewill 
Baptists  in  North  Carolina — Correspondence  with  the  General  Baptists 
— Missions — Sabbath  Schools — Temperance —  Education — Masonry — 
Hinderances  to  Success — Secret  of  Success. 

In  looking  back  over  the  first  half  century  of  our  denomi- 
national history,  we  are  ready  to  exclaim,  "  What  hath 
God  wrought  ?"  Already  has  "  a  little  one  become  a 
thousand,"  and  the  feeble  band  a  strong  people.  But  the 
labor,  the  sacrifices,  the  struggles  of  soul  in  accomplish- 
ing this  work,  who  can  tell  ?  We  have  seen  the  origin  of 
the  Freewill  Baptists,  and  traced  their  progress  ;  but  from 
our  stand-point,  "  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly"  the  way 
by  which  they  came.  It  has  been  only  the  traces  of  their 
footsteps  that  we  have  followed  in  this  history,  a  trace 
almost  obliterated  in  many  instances,  and  sometimes  en- 
tirely so,  for  the  distance  of  years.  But  enough  is  on  rec- 
ord to  show  the  hand  of  God  in  their  rise  and  progress, 
and  themselves  to  be  among  the  most  devoted  and  self- 
denying  laborers. 

The  field  of  operations  has  not  been  greatly  enlarged 
during  this  decade,  but  its  faitliful  cultivation  is  seen  m 
38* 


4:50  FIFTH  DECADE. 

the  resulting  harvest.  The  churches,  ministers  and  mem- 
bers, have  been  doubled,  and  their  hold  upon  public  confi- 
dence more  than  doubly  confirmed.  The  establishment  of 
the  General  Conference  gave  unity  and  efficiency  to  the 
denomination  as  a  body,  and  perfected  its  organization. 
The  General  Conference  and  the  Morning  Star  were  the 
great  enterprises  of  this  decade,  and  their  influence  for 
good  has  been  great. 

The  statistical  estimates  are  more  reliable  than  at  any 
previous  time,  and  at  the  close  of  the  first  half  century — 
in  1830 — there  were  7  Yearly  Meetings,  30  Quarterly 
Meetings,  450  churches,  375  ministers  and  21,000  mem- 
bers. 

The  Ruling  Elder  had  filled  a  recognized  office  in  Bap- 
tist, and  originally  in  Congregationalist,  churches,  and  the 
authority  of  the  office  seems  not  to  have  been  called  in 
question  among  Freewill  Baptists  for  the  first  thirty  years. 
Every  well  organized  church  had  its  ruling  elder,  who 
was  the  leader  of  its  social  meetings  in  the  absence  of  a 
minister,  and  virtually  its  pastor.  Having  been  ordain- 
ed, he  would  sometimes  preach,  administer  the  ordinances, 
and  assume  all  the  powers  of  the  ministry.  And  the  util- 
ity of  this  office,  when  few  churches  had  a  settled  pastor 
^nd  constant  preaching,  cannot  be  doubted. 

Doubts  having  arisen  as  to  the  Scriptural  authority  of 
such  an  office,  those  who  had  acquiesced  in  its  continuance 
as  a  kind  of  necessity,  began  to  call  attention  to  its  pro- 
priety, and  in  1819  the  Elders'  Conference  of  the  Weare 
Quarterly  Meeting  entertained  an  inquiry  into  "  The  Duty 
of  the  Ruling  Elder."  The  question  was  referred  to  the 
Yearly  Meeting,  and,  after  much  discussion,  it  was  refer- 
red to  "  the  several  Yearly  Conferences  of  Elders,"  with 
a  request  for  reports  to  be  sent  to  the  New  Durham  Quar- 
terly Meeting,  but  no  farther  traces  of  the  question  have 
been  found.  In  1822  the  same  question  was  again  start- 
ed in  the  July  number  of  the  Informer,  and  correspon- 
dents argued  it  ipro  and  con  for  twelve  months,  when  the 


ITINERANT   MINISTRY.  451 

editor  declined  to  publish  farther  on  the  subject,  as  it  had 
been  referred  to  the  Yearly  Meeting  for  decision.  At  the 
New  Hampshire  session  in  1823,  it  was  discussed  and 
postponed,  and  at  the  session  in  Vermont  it  was  unani- 
mously agreed  that  no  such  distinct  office  existed  in  the 
apostolic  church.  After  this,  very  few  ruling  elders  were 
ordained,  many  that  had  been  useful  in  the  office  ceas- 
ed their  labors,  and,  consequently,  many  churches  were 
left  with  no  one  to  care  for  their  order,  or  spiritual  wel- 
fare. 

Itinerant  Ministry.  There  had  ever  been,  in  the  minis- 
try, a  commendable  zeal  in  going  out  into  destitute  places 
to  preach  the  gospel ;  but  it  was  not  always  "  according 
to  knowledge  "  in  the  multiplied  organization  of  churches. 
A  few  meetings  and  a  few  conversions  generally  resulted 
in  the  formation  of  a  church,  even  when  there  was  no 
other  prospect  than  that  of  leaving  these  inexperienced 
converts  mostly  to  themselves.  All  through  the  denomi- 
nation was  presented  the  sad  picture  of  these  feeble,  dying, 
extinct  churches ;  and  among  them  were  the  painful 
wrecks  of  larger  ones,  that  had  been  left  without  pastoral 
care  or  stated  preaching.  The  decline  of  ruling  elders 
rendered  the  state  of  things  still  more  unpropitious  ;  and 
those  who  loved  Zion  thought,  wept,  and  prayed  over  the 
subject.  "  What  can  be  done,"  said  they,  "  to  supply 
the  churches  with  stated  preaching  and  gospel  ordinances  ?" 

Ministers  had  been  so  long  accustomed  to  travel  more 
or  Ifess  on  preaching  tours,  that  no  one  thought  of  locating 
them  as  pastors,  with  their  labors  confined  to  one  or  two 
churches.  The  only  alternative  seemed  to  be,  as  stated 
in  the  preceding  chapter,  the  establishment  of  an  Itinerant 
Ministry.  The  Quarterly  Meetings  generally  engaged  iu 
the  enterprise,  and  a  partial  itinerancy  was  effected.  It 
was  believed  that  one  or  two  ministers,  at  least,  in  every 
Quarterly  Meeting,  should  be  employed  and  sustained  in 
travelling  among  the  destitute  churches,  in  laboring  in  re- 
vivals, and  in  planting  new  interests.     And  wherever  this 


452  FIFTH   DECADE. 

effort  was  fairly  made,   it  fully  met  the  expectations  of  its 
friends. 

The  Support  of  the  Ministry,  practically  and  systemati- 
cally endorsed,  had  its  origin  in  the  effort  to  establish  an 
itinerancy.  And  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  this  itinerant 
movement,  when  inaugurated,  had  for  its  object  the  relief 
of  churches,  and  not  the  ministry.  The  man  who  engaged 
to  devote  his  time  and  energies  to  their  good  must  be  sup- 
ported. All  agreed  to  this,  and  thus  far  the  principle  be- 
came a  practical  one.  When  it  was  acknowledged  to  be 
the  right  and  duty  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  to  sustain  a 
travelling  preacher,  it  was  natural  to  inquire  if  it  was  any 
less  the  right  and  duty  of  the  church  to  sustain  a  local  one. 
It  has  already  been  said  on  this  question, i  that  "  the 
fathers  were  not  wrong  in  principle,  but  their  error  was  in 
its  application."  And  so  great  was  their  error,  that  the 
principle  of  ministerial  support,  if  admitted  in  theory,  was 
denied  in  practice.  There  are  a  fcAv  instances  on  record 
of  action  taken  by  churches  and  Quarterly  Meetings,  but 
the  doctrine  taught,  and  the  custom  prevailing,  was,  for 
individuals  to  give  the  minister  privately  what  they  felt  to 
be  right ;  and,  with  the  neglect  of  instruction,  and  the  prej- 
udices against  a  hireling  ministry,  it  is  not  strange  that 
most  people  had  no  feeling  to  give  anything. 

In  1820  the  New  Durham  Quarterly  Meeting  "  recom- 
mended that  each  church  raise  a  stock  for  the  support  of 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  and  the  poor  saints  ;  and  that  it 
be  done  by  equality."  The  next  year  the  Elders'  Confer- 
ence of  the  Weare  Quarterly  Meeting  "  Voted  that  each 
member  should  recommend  to  his  church  to  take  into 
consideration  the  propriety  of  making  some  provision  for 
the  support  of  those  preachers  who  labor  with  them;  and 
report  to  the  next  Conference.  Other  Quarterly  Meetings 
took  similar  action,  and  thus  did  the  church  begin  to  assume 
responsibilities,  which  had  long  been  left  with  irresponsi- 
ble individuals. 
'  See  page  184, 


SUPPORT   OF  THE   MINISTRY.  453 

Jn  December,  1826,  Arthur  Caverno  commenced  a  se- 
ries of  eight  articles  in  the  Morning  Star,  on  "  The  Sup- 
port of  the  Ministry."  He  took  simply  the  Bible  view  of 
the  question,  and  that  was  the  most  convincing  argument 
to  a  Freewill  Baptist.  The  discussion  was  clear  and  can- 
did, and  must  have  produced  good  results.  In  1829  the 
Holland  Purchase  Yearly  Meeting  requested  David  Marks 
to  write  a  Circular  Letter  on  the  Support  of  the  Ministry, 
and  lay  before  the  Quarterly  Meetings  some  general  plan 
for  their  adoption.  This  he  did  in  his  usually  vigorous 
style,  and  quite  an  interest  was  at  once  awakened. 

Timothy  Morse  made  a  written  report^  to  the  Weare 
Quarterly  Meeting,  as  delegate  to  the  First  General  Con- 
ference, and  having  been  one  of  the  committee  on  Itinerant 
Ministry,  he  says,  "  Much  difficulty  was  attached  to  the 
duty  of  this  committee,  principally  because,  when  this 
people  first  set  out,  it  was  with  a  strong  bearing  against 
hirelings,  and  the  efiect,  even  now,  is,  that  if  anything  is 
said  about  helping  the  preachers,  fear  arises  in  the  minds 
of  many  that  the  hireling  spirit  is  coming.  Still,  the 
committee  perceived  that  this  people  were  extending 
greatly,  and  the  preachers  had  calls  to  travel  extensively, 
though  many  of  them  were  sorely  pressed.  As  the  Le- 
vites  anciently,  and  the  apostles  under  the  latter  dispensa- 
tion, had  provision  made  for  them  to  live,  the  committee 
deemed  it  their  duty  to  recommend  something  for  our 
ministers.  *  *  *  *  Finally,  the  committee  closed 
their  report  by  expressing  an  ardent  desire  that  some  sal- 
utary measure  might  be  adopted  for  relief  in  this  matter  ; 
for  we  are  the  only  people  professing  religion  at  this 
day,  whose  preachers  are  left  so  destitute  of  means  by  which 
they  may  be  sustained  in  performing  their  arduous  work." 

Two  of  this  committee  were  laymen,  and,  in  presenting 
his  report,  the  chairman,  Col.  Chai-les  Morse,  of  Maine, 
"  made  a  very  able  argument  in  behalf  of  the  committee, 

*  Weare  Quarterly  Meeting  Records,  Vol.  i. 


454  FIFTH   DECADE. 

in  favor  of  those  measures. "^  The  denomination  was 
now  in  a  transitory  state,  passing  over  to  the  apostolic 
ground  in  reality,  that  "  the  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  re- 
ward," and  that  systematic  measures  should  be  used  to 
insure  it. 

An  Ill-Requited  Ministry  was  that  of  the  Freewill  Bap- 
tists for  fifty  years,  and  we  cannot  finally  dismiss  the  subject 
without  again  calling  attention  to  this  characteristic  of  their 
labors.  The  history  of  their  evangelic  faith,  their  heroic 
deeds,  and  their  God-given  success,  would  be  unjust  to 
their  memory,  and  the  cause  so  dear  to  their  hearts,  did 
it  not  give  prominence  to  their  Consecration  to  Christ, 
as  seen  in  their  unselfish,  uncompensated  efforts  to  preach 
his  gospel.  Our  minds  ought  to  be  impressed  with  the 
fact  that  they  performed  an  amount  of  gratuitous*  labor, 
such  as  modern  times  have  seldom  witnessed.  The  ex- 
tent of  their  labor,  the  fact  that  it  was  almost  entirely 
without  remuneration,  and  the  cheerful  sacrifice  with 
which  it  was  done,  oxight  to  put  to  blush  gentlemen  minis- 
ters, who  first  study  their  ease,  or  consult  their  pocket,- 
when  opportunities  for  doing  good  are  presented. 

Has  the  reader  forgotten  that  Randall  was  accustomed 
to  work  at  the  tailor's  bench  both  late  and  early,  all  nights 
even,  that  he  might  worship  with  his  brethren  and  towns- 
men the  next  day  ;  or  provide  the  necessary  comforts  for 
his  family  in  the  shortest  time  possible,  and  be  off  again 
on  a  preaching  tour?  Think  of  a  consumptive  man  jour- 
neying one  hundred  miles  on  horseback,  in  the  oppressive 
heat  of  midsummer,  preaching  three  times  the  day  after, 
bleeding  at  the  lungs  through  the  night,  prostrate  on  his 
bed  in  the  morning,  preaching  an  ordination  sermon  in 
the  afternoon,  and  coughing  and  leaving  the  bloody  traces 
of  his  diseased  lungs  by  the  road  side,  as  he  journeyed 
home.  Hear  him  say  from  his  dying  bed,  "  O  ye  minis- 
ters of  Jesus,  how  happy  is  your  lot !     How  glorious  is 

3  Morning  Star,  Vol.  ii.,  No.  27. 


cabet's  experience.  455 

your  reward,  not  only  hereafter,  but  here  !  Never  speak 
a  complaining  word.  I  tliink  now,  if  I  had  only  my  lungs 
and  voice,  however  weak  my  body,  I  would  blow  the  gos- 
pel trumpet  till  I  died  in  the  blessed  work."  The  posses- 
sion of  such  a  spirit  is  of  more  true  worth  in  the  sight  of 
God,  and  for  the  good  of  man,  than  the  unsanctified  wealth 
of  all  the  millionaires  on  earth. 

What  equity  was  there  in  the  gift  of  a  fortnight's  time 
and  labor  on  the  part  of  Randall  and  Buzzell  to  plant  a 
free  church  in  Vermont,  balanced  by  the  eighty  cents 
which  they  received  ?  Or  the  time  and  expense  of  Bur- 
bank  and  Manson,  in  suspending  their  schools  at  the  call 
of  unknown  friends  in  Canada,  and  the  pittance  of  one 
dollar  and  ten  cents  which  each  received  ?  These  in- 
stances illustrate  a  thousand  cases  of  similar  sacrifice  in 
establishing  and  sustaining  our  churches  for  the  first  half 
century. 

Allen  Files  itinerated  during  the  first  fifteen  years  of  his 
ministry,  in  which  time  his  receipts  were  not  enough  to 
clothe  him.  In  one  place  he  preached  two  years,  and  his 
salary  was  "  a  suit  of  home-made  clothes,"  and  a  collec- 
tion taken  in  a  congregation  of  three  hundred  in  time  of 
revival,  which  amounted  to  "  eighty-one  cents,  all  in  mon- 
ey." Charles  Bowles,  of  sable  hue  but  Christian  heart, 
has  been  known  to  hoe  his  corn  through  the  live-long 
night,  as  the  only  alternative  by  which  he  could  preach 
Christ  during  the  next  day.  Similar  statements  might  be 
made  of  a  majority  of  the  fathers,  who  preached,  not  for 
gain,  but  from  love  to  the  cause,  and  a  sense  of  duty,  not- 
withstanding their  pecuniary  loss. 

But  New  England  preachers  were  not  the  only  ones 
that  labored  without  reward,  and  against  opposing  influ- 
ences that  would  have  discouraged  men  in  other  times. 
Jacob  W.  Darling,  of  New  York,  went  forth  in  his  Mas- 
ter's service,  without  "  purse  or  scrip,"  and  "  travelled 
more  than  three  thousand  miles  on  foot,  before  he  was  able 
to  purchase  a  horse."     Hear  the  experience  of  Richard 


456  FIFTH   DECADE. 

M.  Carey:  "For  five  years  I  preached  statedly  once  a 
month  in  Boston,  West  Concord,  Ashford,  Eden  and 
China,  and  frequently  in  Hamburg,  Rushford,  Springville, 
Little  Valley  and  Forestville,  towns  located  in  three  differ- 
ent counties,  and  scattered  over  a  territory  of  fifty  miles 
in  diameter.  At  tliis  time  I  also  attended  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  funerals  in  six  towns,  often  riding  from  twenty 
to  forty  miles  to  attend  the  solemnities  of  the  dead.  All 
my  journeys  were  performed  on  horseback  ;  a  carriage  I 
could  not  buy,  as  it  required  all  my  address  to  keep  my 
family  from  actual  want.  During  twelve  years  of  my 
most  active  life,  all  my  receipts  for  ministerial  labor  did 
not  exceed  fifty  dollars  a  year."  No  human  constitution 
could  endure  such  an  amount  of  protracted  labor,  and  it  is 
no  wonder  that  he  sunk  under  the  burden.  But  the 
spirit  of  the  man  is  seen  in  the  fact  that,  when  only  par- 
tially restored  to  health,  and  able  to  walk  only  a  few  rods, 
he  would  ride  to  the  house  of  God,  and  preach  to  the 
church  sitting  in  an  easy  chair.  And  thus  did  he  continue 
to  preach  for  seven  successive  years,  receiving  for  his  ser- 
vices and  the  wants  of  his  family  only  such  presents  as  in- 
dividuals were  disposed  to  give. 

A  condensed  statement  of  Herman  Jenkins,  in  1842, 
reads  as  follows  :  "It  gives  me  indescribable  feelings 
when  I  look  back  upon  the  thirty  years  I  have  spent  in 
the  ministry.  The  trials  which  I  passed  through  in  the 
beginning,  the  sacrifices  I  made  of  time,  and  the  little 
property  I  had  collected,  all  come  up  fresh  before  me. 
The  prejudices  of  the  fathers  against  churches  taking 
measures  to  support  the  ministry,  were  such  that  my  little 
all  soon  went.  The  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  of  Avhich 
I  had  a  deed,  became  involved.  I  held  on  upon  the  land, 
hoping  that  its  rise  in  value  would  give  me  an  advantage, 
till,  after  thirty  years  of  embarrassment,  I  was  obliged  to 
sell  all  at  thirty  dollars  per  acre,  to  pay  my  debts. 

"  At  one  time  two  or  three  churches  said  to  me,  '  If 
you  will  preach  to  us  a  year,  and  come  round  with  your 


JENKINS'    EXPERIENCE.  457 

sleigh  in  the  winter,  we  will  put  in  grain  enough  for  your 
family  for  the  year.'  Accordingly  I  went  round  with  my 
sleigh,  but  little  grain  did  I  get.  Excuses  paid  me  off. 
But  I  continued  preaching,  and  when  spring  came  was 
entirely  out  of  provisions.  I  went  to  a  rich  brother  and 
bought  grain,  pork  and  butter,  giving  him  my  note.  It 
ran  on,  and  I  mentioned  about  paying,  but  the  answer  was, 
'  No  matter,  brother  Jenkins,  keep  preaching.'  At  one  time 
he  strongly  hinted  that  I  was  welcome  to  the  note,  but  he 
never  gave  it  to  me,  and,  after  his  death,  I  was  called  on 
to  pay  it,  when  the  interest  was  more  than  the  principal. 

"  At  another  time  I  returned  home  late  at  night  in  the 
month  of  April,  from  a  missionary  tour  in  Canada,  hav- 
ing been  absent  four  months  ;  and  my  wife  said  to  me, 
'  Our  hay  has  been  gone  a  long  time.  We  have  fed  out 
all  the  corn  and  potatoes,  and  have  emptied  every  straw 
bed  but  one,  to  keep  the  cattle  from  starving ;  but  have 
kept  one  bundle  of  hay  for  your  horse.'  I  was  glad  to 
see  my  family,  and  thanked  God  for  protection.  In  the 
morning  I  went  to  the  barn.  It  was  cold,  and  a  slight 
snow  had  fallen.  Not  a  lock  of  hay  for  my  horse,  just 
off  from  a  long  journey,  nor  for  my  cattle.  I  drove  them 
up  (some  I  had  to  help  up),  and  O,  how  poor  !  I  found 
that  one  hundred  dollars  worth  had  died.  I  sat  down 
and  wept,  not  so  much  for  the  loss  of  my  cattle,  as  to 
think  that  I  had  brethren  selling  hay  at  ten  dollars  a  ton, 
and  no  attention  was  paid  to  my  stock.  But  I  had  assist- 
ance from  certain  brethren,  as  I  always  have  had,  or  I 
should  have  fainted. 

"  This  cured  me  of  my  old  tradition  about  helping  min- 
isters— '  Let  not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand 
doeth.'  I  went  before  the  public  with  this  text :  '  Thou 
shalt  not  muzzle  the  ox  when  he  treadeth  out  the  corn  ;* 
and  confessed  my  fault,  and  told  them  it  was  wicked  be- 
fore God  to  let  their  minister  suffer.  I  wish  no  one  to 
suffer  as  I  and  others  have  in  former  times  ;  but  thank& 
39 


458  FIFTH   DECADE. 

be  to  God,  though,  my  property  is  gone,  and  I  am  a  poor 
man,  I  have  a  rich  Father." 

The  fault  of  the  churches  in  thus  neglecting  their  min- 
isters, was  not  a  want  of  regard  for  them,  or  their  services  ; 
nor  was  it  sheer  covelousness  ;  though  a  religion  that  sel- 
dom lays  the  purse  under  contribution,  is  most  congenial 
to  our  nature.  But  this  neglect  may  be  traced  to  a  three- 
fold influence.  First,  the  remembered  oppression  of  tax- 
gatherers  for  the  support  of  the  "  standing  order."  This 
kept  alive  the  general  feeling  of  opposition  to  all  practical 
methods  of  ministerial  support.  Second,  a  mistaken  con- 
viction that  religion  is  exclusively  spiritual.  The  fathers 
saw  around  them  so  much  formality,  and  reliance  in  ex- 
ternal means,  that  their  attention  was  all-absorbed  in  the 
spiritual  interests  of  worship,  even  to  the  neglect  of  mate- 
rial means  for  its  support.  Third,  a  want  of  suitable  in- 
struction on  the  subject,  that  left  the  people  unconscious 
of  their  duty.  We  drop  the  tear  of  sympathy  over  the 
hard  lot  of  our  first  ministers,  but,  in  the  midst  of  our 
reverential  regard  for  them  and  their  work,  the  question 
wiU  arise.  Did  they  declare  all  the  counsel  of  God  on  this 
subject  ?  Their  embarrassments  were  many,  and  their 
suiFerings  great,  but  there  was  another  class  of  persons 
whose  memory  is  equally  precious,  and  whose  claim  upon 
our  sympathy  is  even  greater. 

The  Wives  of  those  early  ministers  had  an  experience, 
such  as  few  women  can  tell.  On  them  devolved,  in  a 
great  measure,  the  care  of  the  family,  and  those  were 
days  of  large  families,  when  men  counted  their  wealth  by 
the  number  of  their  children.  And  the  husband's  absence 
being  without  compensation,  often  curtailed  the  supply  of 
their  wants,  and  increased  the  wife's  anxiety  in  providing  for 
the  deficiencyw  And  yet  farther,  the  loneliness  of  her  sit- 
uation, with  no  word  of  cheer  from  a  sympathizing  friend, 
must  have  been  as  trying  to  her  sensitive  nature,  as  the 
separation  was  to  him,  amid  the  scenes  of  social  and  pub- 


WIVES    OF   MINISTERS.  459 

lie  interest.  A  continued  revival  has  sometimes  protracted 
the  husband's  absence,  till  the  family  has  been  reduced  to 
great  extremities. 

Rev.  Clement  Phinney  is  laboring  in  a  revival  at  Gray, 
twenty  miles  from  home,  A  peep  at  his  family,  as  they 
gather  round  the  breakfast  table,  reveals  a  scanty  meal, 
the  last  morsel  the  house  affords.  The  hour  for  dinner 
approaches,  and  together  they  leave  their  foodless  home. 
The  returning  husband  and  father  soon  meets  them,  and 
says,  "  Well,  dears,  where  are  you  all  going  ?"  "  "We 
have  started  to  find  our  dinner,"  said  the  care-worn 
wife.  *'  Here  it  is,"  said  he,  putting  his  hand  upon  the 
bag  of  meal  and  bundle  of  meat  with  which  his  horse  was 
laden. 

Who  can  tell  the  anguish  of  mind  experienced  by  Mrs. 
Jenkins  during  her  husband's  four  months'  absence  in 
Canada  ?  The  sad  tale  of  her  anxious  efforts  to  save  a 
stock  of  cattle,  cannot  reveal  the  extent  of  her  latent 
feelings.  She  only  says,  "  Our  hay  has  been  gone  a 
long  time.  We  have  fed  out  all  the  corn  and  potatoes, 
and  have  emptied  every  straw  bed  but  one,  to  keep  the 
cattle  from  starving  ;  but  have  kept  one  bundle  of  hay  for 
your  horse." 

Rev.  R.  M.  Carey  tells  of  woman's  toil  and  endurance, 
in  her  sphere,  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  He  was  away 
from  home  preaching  much  of  the  time,  and  says,  "  My 
wife  looked  after  the  farm,  and  took  care  of  the  family  by 
day,  and  spun  and  wove  by  night.  Returning  home  from 
one  of  my  preaching  tours  late  one  evening,  I  found  her 
weeping  over  our  lovely  babe,  cold  in  death.  Alone,  in  a 
great  measure,  had  she  borne  the  burden  of  a  large 
family,  and  alone  did  she  watch  by  the  dying  child.  I 
could  not  refrain  from  reproaching  myself,  and  in  the 
anguish  of  my  soul  exclaimed,  '  They  made  me  keeper  of 
the  vineyard,  but  mine  own  vineyard  have  I  not  kept.'" 

In  addition  to  the  extra  amount  of  home  duties  assum- 
ed by  the  wives  of  ministers,  that  their  husbands  might 


460  FIFTH   DECADE. 

be  at  liberty  to  travel  and  preach,  and  the  privations  thus 
endured,  "women  have  never  been  wanting  in  interest  or 
effort,  as  a  class,  in  sustaining  the  worship  of  G-od,  espec- 
ially social  meetings  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  more  public 
efforts  made  by  several.  Let  it  be  remembered,  then, 
that  of  all  the  persons  called  to  assume  unusual  cares, 
submit  to  unusual  privations,  and  sacrifice  unusual  social 
comforts,  in  establishing  the  denomination,  the  wives  of 
its  early  ministers  stood  among  the  first.  If  any  peo- 
ple have  reason  to  respect  woman,  to  pay  a  high  tribute 
to  her  memory,  and  place  a  high  appreciation  on  her 
labors  and  sacrifices  for  Christ,  the  Freewill  Baptists  are 
that  people. 

The  Press  was  called  into  more  efiicient  service  in  re- 
ligion during  this  decade  than  ever  before.  The  Relig- 
ious Informer  was  well  patronized  as  a  monthly  periodical, 
and,  for  eight  years,  did  an  important  work  in  the  denom- 
ination.    It  was  removed  to  Enfield  in  1822. 

In  1820  Buzzell  resumed  the  publication  of  the  Relig- 
ious Magazine,  a  small  quarterly,  and  continued  it  two 
years. 

Christians  have  ever  been  wont  to  worship  God  in 
songs  of  praise  ;  and  the  Free"\vill  Baptists  were  a  singing 
people.  Their  experience  of  the  glory  that  fills  the  conse- 
crated soul,  led  them  to  sing  for  joy.  But  there  was  no 
collection  of  hymns  adapted  to  their  faith  and  experience. 
This  want  had  been  long  felt,  and  an  effort  for  its  supply 
was  becoming  a  pressing  necessity.  After  "  repeated 
solicitations  "  and  "  liberal  subscriptions  "  for  the  work, 
John  Buzzell  compiled  a  Hymn  Book,  which  was  publish- 
ed in  1823.  The  number  of  hymns  was  three  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  the  selections  were  mostly  from  standard 
authors,  though  a  few  were  gleaned  from  the  writings  of 
other  men,  including  two  or  three  from  Randall,  and  sev- 
eral of  his  own.  EHas  Libby  united  with  him  in  its  pub- 
lication, and  such  was  the  demand  for  the  book,  that  three 
editions  were  issued. 


MOENING   STAB.  461 

For  several  years  the  December  number  of  tlie  Religious 
Informer  contained  a  list  of  the  Yearly  and  Quarterly 
Meetings,  and  the  days  on  which  they  were  held,  also  of 
churches,  and  ministers,  with  the  place  of  their  residence. 
To  give  this  information  a  wider  circulation,  and  to  place 
it  in  a  more  convenient  form  for  reference.  Rev.  Samuel 
Burbank  proposed  to  publish  a  Freewill  Baptist  Register, 
containing  the  above  facts,  in  connection  with  the  usual 
almanac  calculations.  He  had  been  through  a  complete 
course  of  mathematical  studies  under  Dudley  Leavitt,  the 
noted  "  Almanac  maker."  In  the  September  number  of 
the  Informer,  appeared  the  prospectus  of  the  Register  for 
1825.  It  was  soon  issued,  and  met  with  a  ready  sale. 
The  size  was  the  same  as  now  published,  and  the  matter 
much  the  same,  except  the  absence  of  numerical  statistics. 
For  nine  years  he  published  this  little  work  on  his  own 
responsibility,  when  it  was  surrendered  to  the  Printing 
Establishment. 

The  FreewiU  Baptist  Magazine,  published  in  Rhode 
Island,  commenced  in  May,  1826,  and  was  issued  quar- 
terly for  two  years.  It  then  became  a  monthly  publica- 
tion of  twenty-four  pages,  and  was  continued  three  years 
longer. 

The  want  of  a  weekly  newspaper  had  been  often  ac- 
knowledged, and  a  desire  for  the  establishment  of  one  as 
often  expressed.  In  1825  Samuel  Burbank  and  Elias 
Libby  were  conversing  on  the  subject,  and  agreed  to  con- 
sult the  Parsonsfield  Quarterly  Meeting  at  its  next  session 
as  to  the  expediency  of  publishing  such  a  paper.  They 
did  so,  and  the  Quarterly  Meeting  doubted  its  success,  but 
agreed  to  patronize  it,  if  commenced.  Nine  men  were 
found,  ready  to  assume  the  publication  of  a  paper,  and 
they  were,  Henry  Hobbs,  Jonathan  Woodman,  John  Buz- 
zell,  Samuel  Burbank,  Elias  Libby,  Andrew  Hobson, 
Joseph  Hobson,  Mark  Hill,  and  William  Davidson,  all 
ministers,  except  Dea.  Joseph  Hobson.  They  commenced 
with  a  capital  of  $800.,  at  $50.  a  share,  and  issued  their 
39* 


462  FIFTH   DECADE. 

prospectus  January  2d,  1826,  saying,  "  The  first  two 
pages  of  the  paper  will  be  devoted  to  Religious  Intelligence 
and  Christian  Correspondence.  The  other  two  pages,  to 
News  in  general,  and  whatever  may  be  attractive  to  the 
■candid  reader." 

The  company  was  not  legally  organized  till  February 
-4th,  when,  at  the  house  of  Elias  Libby,  the  articles  of  co- 
partnership were  signed,  and  Hobbs  was  chosen  chairman, 
and  Burbank  clerk.  Arrangements  were  then  made  for 
procuring  a  press,  type,  paper,  &c.,  and,  at  a  subsequent 
meeting,  John  Buzzell  was  chosen  Senior  Editor,  and 
Samviel  Burbank  Resident  Editor  and  Agent.  William 
Burr,  a  young  man  about  twenty  years  of  age,  then  in  the 
Traveller  ofiice  at  Boston,  was  engaged  as  printer.  The 
type  for  the  first  paper  were  mostly  set  with  his  own  hands, 
and  May  11th,  1826,  was  issued  the  first  number  of  the 
Morning  Star.  It  was  published  at  Limerick,  Maine,  a 
small  village,  thirty  miles  from  Portland,  and  about  the 
same  distance  from  Dover,  N.  H.,  to  which  place  it  was 
removed  seven  years  after.  The  Star  needs  no  word  of 
commendation  here,  but  nothing  less  can  be  said  than  that 
its  moulding  and  controlling  influence  has  been  veiy  great. 
Four  times  has  it  been  enlarged,  and  its  subscription  list 
has  come  up  from  about  five  hundred  to  more  than  eleven 
thousand.  A  series  of  seventeen  articles,  published  the 
first  year,  on  the  "  Order  and  Discipline  of  the  Churph," 
contributed  greatly  to  the  increase  of  system  and  uni- 
formity in  the  denomination. 

The  journal  of  Randall  had  been  put  into  the  hands  of 
John  Buzzell,  and  the  Elders'  Conference  had  requested 
its  publication.  The  Morning  Star  company  offered  to 
print  it,  and  Buzzell  prepared  the  work  for  the  press.  It 
was  published  in  1827,  and  made  a  duodecimo  volume  of 
308  pages,  in  large  type,  and  heavily  leaded.  The  style 
was  plain  and  vigorous,  and  the  book  found  a  ready  sale. 
Said  Rev.  Zalmon  Tobey,  "  I  have  been  much  edified  and 
instructed  in  reading  the  '  Life  of  Elder  Benjamin  Randall.' 


GENERAL   BAPTISTS.  463 

I  wish  the  work  may  have  an  extensive  cii'culation.  I 
wish  the  spirit  that  so  eminently  appeared  in  him,  may  be 
cherished  by  all  Christians  ;  especially  by  all  his  succes- 
sors in  the  ministry.  To  what  end  the  Freewill  Baptists, 
as  a  denomination,  will  come,  I  know  not,  but  I  do  believe 
that  their  origin  was  from  God.  "While  reading  the  book 
I  was  affected,  even  to  tears." 

In  1828  the  Company  republished  "  Persuasives  to 
Early  Piety,"  by  Rev.  J.  G.  Pike,  of  England.  It  is  a 
book  of  290  pages,  18mo.,  and  well  calculated  to  promote 
piety  among  the  young. 

Freewill  Baptists  in  North  Carolina.  Early  in  the  year 
182.7,  Rev.  Jesse  Heath,  of  North  Carolina,  learned,  by 
some  means,  that  there  was  a  Freewill  Baptist  paper  pub- 
lished in  Maine,  and  John  Buzzell,  of  Parsonsfield,  was 
an  editor,  to  whom  he  addressed  a  letter  of  inquiry.  Buz- 
zell answered  it  April  23d,  and  the  correspondence  thus 
commenced,  and  published  in  the  Morning  Star,  was  con- 
tinued occasionally  for  years.  Rev.  Elias  Hutchins  visited 
them  in  1829,  met  with  a  cordial  reception,  preached  in 
most  of  their  churches,  and  visited  the  small  branch  in 
South  Carolina. 

The  first  Baptist  churches  in  North  Carolina  were  gath- 
ered by  Revs.  Paul  Palmer  and  Joseph  Parker,  descend- 
ants from  the  General  Baptists  in  England.  In  1764  the 
Philadelphia  Baptist  Association  sent  two  ministers  among 
these  churches,  and  most  of  them  joined  the  Calvinists. 
Palmer  was  no  more,  but  Parker  and  a  few  churches  de- 
clined to  unite,  and  their  number  continued  to  increase 
till  Hutchins  was  there,  when  there  were  some  twenty 
ministers,  as  many  churches,  and  845  members.  They 
were  called  Freewill  Baptists,  and  in  faith  and  practice 
did  not  differ  from  their  brethren  of  the  same  name  at  the 
North,  only  many  of  them  were  slaveholders. 

Correspondence  with  the  General  Baptists.  A  copy  of 
Buzzell's  Magazine  found  its  way  across  the  Atlantic,  and 
providentially  fell  into  the  hands  of  Rev.  Adam  Taylor, 


464  FIFTH   DECADE. 

of  London,  England,  a  prominent  minister,  and  editor  of 
the  General  Baptist  Repository  and  Missionary  Observer, 
He  stated  the  fact  before  the  General  Baptist  Association, 
and  was  appointed  to  open  and  solicit  correspondence  with 
the  Freewill  Baptists  in  America.  In  accordance  with 
this  instruction,  he  addressed  a  letter,  and  sent  several 
publications,  to  Rev.  John  Buzzell,  of  Parsonsfield,  Me, 
These  were  received  early  in  1825,  and  by  him  laid  be- 
fore the  Yearly  Meeting  in  June.  The  intelligence  of  a 
sympathizing  denomination  in  Europe  was  hailed  with 
profound  joy.  Forty-five  years  had  passed  away  since  the 
Freewill  Baptists  struggled  into  existence,  and  they  had 
been  so  many  years  of  struggle  for  the  maintenance  of 
that  existence,  and  the  existence  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
During  this  whole  time  not  a  letter  of  congi-atulation  had 
cheered  their  hearts  from  a  sister  denomination,^  In 
view  of  these  facts.,  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  fraternal  salu- 
tations from  England  did  touch  a  sympathetic  chord,  and 
prompt  a  kind  return.  Buzzell  Avas  chosen  to  acknowl- 
edge, in  behalf  of  the  denomination,  the  high  favor  shown 
by  brethren  in  England,  and  to  assure  them  that  the  pro- 
posed correspondence  meets  with  universal  approval.^ 

John  Purkis,  a  licensed  preacher  among  the  General 
Baptists,  came  to  this  country  in  1826,  and  his  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Freewill  Baptists  commenced  at  the  Yearly 
Meeting  in  Parsonsfield,  November  4th.  He  brought 
several  publications  from  the  General  Baptists,  and  was 
able  to  give  much  additional  information.  He  was  well 
recommended,  and  settled  with  the  church  in  Gorham, 
The  next  year  he  returned  for  a  daughter  he  had  left  in 
England,  and  was  made  the  bearer  of  several  despatch- 
es.    His  interview  with  Adam  Taylor,   of  London,  and 

■*  The  unfortunate  termination  of  their  proposed  correspondence  with 
the  Calvinistic  Baptists,  and  their  proverbial  modesty  in  introducing 
themselves  to  the  notice  of  others,  had  checked  every  desire  to  com- 
mence a  correspondence,  and  they  toiled  on  alone. 

*  iEeligious  Informer,  Vol.  v.,  p.  184. 


MISSIONS SABBATH   SCHOOLS.  466 

th.e  information  he  was  able  to  give  the  Annual  Associa- 
tion at  Derby,  greatly  strengthened  the  fraternal  bonds  of 
union. 

Missions.  About  three  years  after  the  General  Bap- 
tists sent  their  first  missionaries  to  Orissa,  one  of  them, 
Rev,  James  Peggs,  addressed  a  letter  "  To  the  Churches 
and  Ministers  of  the  Freewill  Baptists  in  America."  It 
was  dated  Cuttack,  April  12,  1824,  and  was  published  in 
the  Morning  Star,  June  7,  1827.  The  letter  was  de- 
scriptive of  the  country,  and  the  condition  of  the  heathen, 
and  was  an  appeal  for  cooperation.  Its  publication  was 
followed  by  half  a  dozen  editorial  articles  in  the  course  of 
the  year,  and  by  additional  correspondence  with  the  mis- 
sionaries, both  in  Orissa  and  the  "West  Indies  ;  keeping 
the  readers  of  the  Star  apprised  of  the  progress  of  the 
missions.  Thus  was  laid  the  foundation  of  our  subsequent 
interest  in  Foreign  Missions. 

Sahbath  Schools  were  beginning  to  be  established  in 
our  churches  during  this  decade.  The  first  school  of 
which  we  have  any  record  was  in  Wilton,  Me.,  in  1819, 
sustained  by  the  influence  of  Rev.  John  Foster.  Other 
denominations  were  introducing  them  into  their  churches, 
and  using  question  books  that  taught  the  hard  doctrines 
of  Calvinism.  So  sensitive  on  this  point  were  some 
Freewill  Baptists,  that  they  not  only  opposed  these  doc- 
trines, but  even  Sabbath  schools  in  which  they  were 
taught ;  contending  that  children  ought  to  be  left  to  form 
their  own  opinions  on  doctrinal  questions,  when  their  judg- 
ments shall  have  become  more  mature.  Others  took  a 
more  judicious  and  liberal  view  of  the  subject,  and  said, 
the  study  of  the  Bible  in  classes  on  the  Sabbath  must  be 
right  in  itself,  and  whatever  is  wrong  in  the  manner  of 
studying  it  in  other  schools  shall  be  discarded  by  us. 
We  cannot  refrain  from  teaching  our  children  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible,  for  that  would  leave  them  mostly  without  re- 
ligious instruction  ;  but  in  our  schools,  where  neighbors' 
children  will  attend,  we  must  use  discretion.     With  this 


466  FIFTH   DECADE. 

difference  of  opinion  on  the  subject,  the  Maine  Westerm 
Yearly  Meeting  submitted  this  question  to  the  Second 
General  Conference  :  "  Shall  we  encourage  Sabbath 
schools  in  the  connection  ?"  The  answer  was,  "  "We 
advise  our  brethren  who  are  convinced  of  the  utility  of 
Sabbath  schools,  to  form  them  independent  of  any  other, 
and  have  religious  instructors."  From  this  time  there 
was  an  increasing  confidence  in  their  usefulness,  but  it 
was  only  after  their  beneficial  operation  had  been  shown, 
that  objections  were  entirely  removed. 

Temperance.  The  use  of  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  bev- 
erage had  been  common  for  a  long  time,  in  all  circles. 
Company  could  not  be  entertained  without  it,  and  never 
was  the  beverage  absent  at  births,  marriages,  or  funer- 
als. Towns  had  usually  provided  rum  at  the  raising  and 
dedication  of  a  meeting  house,  and  at  the  ordination  of  a 
minister  legally  settled.  And  with  shame  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, that  cider  was  sometimes  publicly  furnished  by 
the  church  that  entertained  the  Quarterly  Meeting.^  The 
drinking  habits  of  the  people  were  such  that  the  sale  of 
distilled  spirits  was  one  of  the  invariable  appendages  of  all 
public  gatherings. 

When  the  alarming  evils  of  intemperance  began  to 
arrest  attention,  Freewill  Baptists  were  early  applying 
means  for  their  check.  Prior  to  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
in  Upper  Gilmanton  in  1820,  they  applied  to  the  Select- 
men, and  notices  were  posted  up,  forbidding  "  the  sale  of 
spirituous  liquors  in  the  streets,  or  near  the  meeting." 
The  next  year  the  Weare  Quarterly  Meeting  "  earnestly 
recommended"  to  its  members  "not  to  use  any  ardent 
spirits  on  funeral  occasions,  except  when  the  person  died 
of  some  contagious  disease."  And  in  the  November 
number  of  the  Religious  Magazine,  was  an  article  against 
"  The  Use  of  Rum  at  Funerals."  Churches  began  to  call 
their  members,  who  were  rumseUers,  to  an  account.  In 
Canterbury,  N.  H.,  a  Clerk  was  required  to  leave  a  store 
*  New  Durham  Church  Records,  Vol.  ii.,  p.  28L 


EDucATioiir.  46^7 

where  ardent  spirits  were  sold,  and,  in  1822,  decided  ac- 
tion was  taken  against  "  drinking  with  the  drunken."' 
Before  Joseph  "White  left  Rhode  Island,  which  was  in 
1826,  he  preached  "  against  spirituous  liquors  as  a  bever- 
age," and  offended  some.  At  the  General  Conference  in 
1828,  it  was 

"  Resolved,  That  we  advise  the  members  of  our  church- 
es to  abstain  from  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  on  all  occa- 
sions, except  when  they  are  necessary  as  a  medicine." 

From  this  time  onward  the  Freewill  Baptists  were  in 
the  front  ranks  of  temperance  reformers. 

Education,  like  the  other  benevolent  enterprises,  be- 
longs rather  to  a  subsequent  volume,  where  it  will  be  con- 
sidered in  all  its  bearings  ;  but  the  fathers  of  the  first  half 
century  have  been  so  often  claimed  by  the  ignorant,  and 
charged  by  others,  as  opposed  to  education,  that  justice 
requires  the  removal  of  wrong  impressions,  that  they 
may  stand  before  posterity  in  their  true  position.  After 
a  careful  study  of  the  subject,  it  is  believed  that  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  candid  and  reliable  statement  of  facts  : 

The  six  men  who  are  regarded  as  the  founders  of  the 
denomination — Randall,  Tiugley,  Weeks,  Hibbard,  Lord 
and  Lock — had,  all  of  them,  been  acceptable  ministers  in 
the  Calvinistic  Baptist  denomination,  where  their  educa- 
tion was  probably  no  better,  or  worse,  than  that  of  the 
average  country  ministers.  One  of  the  six  was  thorough- 
ly educated,  and  never  were  the  Freewill  Baptists  without 
that  class  of  men  in  their  councils,  though  the  number 
was  always  small.  Tingley,  Babcock  and  Tobey,  had 
more  influence  over  the  ministry  and  laity  every  day  they 
were  Avith  the  denomination,  than  they  could  have  had  as 
uneducated  men.  And  the  attainments  of  other  men, 
who  had  not  been  to  college,  were  appreciated,  and  ac- 
knowledged to  have  enhanced  their  usefulness.  Not  a 
line  written,  nor  a  word  uttered,  against  education,  has 
yet  come  to  light,  as  the  sentiment  of  the  fathers  during 
the  first  forty  years.     They  did  not  glorify  education — they 


468  FIFTH   DECADE. 

probably  did  not  sufficiently  appreciate  it — but  they  did 
not  oppose  it. 

When  Asa  Rand,  in  a  published  sermon  in  1816, 
charged  the  Freewill  Baptist  ministry  with  ignorance,  and 
a  love  of  it,  John  Buzzell  replied  by  saying,  "  I  have  no 
reflections  to  cast,  but  I  am  very  positive  that  he  labored 
under  a  very  great  mistake.  I  know  of  no  people  who 
strive  harder  to  obtain  useful  instruction.  It  is  a  good 
thing  for  a  minister  to  be  well  stocked  with  human  learn- 
ing, but  when  we  place  learning  instead  of  sound  abilities, 
or  of  grace,  we  always  do  wrong." 

"  An  Old  Watchman,"'''  whose  ministry  began  with  the 
present  century,  and  was  of  fifty  years'  continuance, 
says,  "  For  ten  years  I  attended  almost  all  the  Yearly, 
Quarterly,  and  Conference  Meetings,  where  every  point 
of  doctrine  and  discipline  was  conversed  upon,  and  all 
the  regulations  made  to  govern  ourselves  and  others  be- 
longing to  the  connection.  Although  there  was  the  great- 
est anxiety  that  we  should  have  a  humble  and  spiritual 
ministry,  such  as  God  would  own  and  bless,  yet  I  do  not 
recollect  of  a  single  instance  of  their  disapproving  of 
learning  in  the  ministry  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  they  were 
exhorted  to  improve  all  the  means  in  their  power  to  store 
their  minds  with  useful  knowledge.  Nothing  was  more 
disgusting  than  an  idle,  superficial  minister.  The  partic- 
ular object  of  the  Elders'  Conference  was  to  train  up  all 
young  men,  who  gave  evidence  that  they  were  called  of 
God,  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  everything  that  per- 
tains to  life  and  godliness.  Eld.  Randall  once  said  to  me, 
while  conversing  on  this  subject,  '  I  read  everything.'  " 

The  Congregationalists  insisted  upon  a  classical  educa- 
tion for  the  ministry ;  and  here  the  Freewill  Baptists 
joined  issue.  It  was  admitted  that  such  an  education 
brought  with  it  great  advantages,  if  sanctified,  but  it  was 
denied  that  they  were  essentially  requisite.  They  had 
seen  so   much   reliance   on   literary  attainments,   rather 

7  Dr.  Simeon  Dana.    Morning  Star,  Vol.  xiii.,  No.  48. 


CONCLUSION.  469 

than  the  aid  of  the  Spirit,  in  preaching  ;  and  such  was  the 
call  for  immediate  laborers,  Christian  men  of  experience, 
that  they  disapproved  of  a  required  course  of  study  for  the 
ministry.  When  a  greater  interest  was  awakened  in  edu- 
cation generally,  and  Theological  Schools  began  to  be 
established,  and  young  men  in  the  Freewill  Baptist  minis- 
try were  studying  with  a  diligence  truly  praiseworthy, 
there  arose  a  class  of  men  jealous  of  the  results.  They 
feared  that  learning,  rather  than  God,  would  become  the 
reliance  of  such  ministers  ;  and  some  of  them,  having  but 
little  relish  for  study  themselves,  and  but  a  faint  apprecia- 
tion of  its  advantages,  discouraged  their  young  brethren 
from  study  for  ministerial  usefulness.  Others  encouraged 
them,  and  thus  was  there  a  division  in  the  counsel  given 
at  this  decade.  A  few  took  extreme  ground,  but  the  de- 
nomination took  its  position  in  defence  of  education  as  the 
handmaid  of  religion,  and  a  theological  education  as  a 
great  assistant  to  the  ministry. 

Masonry.  In  1826,  "William  Morgan,  of  Batavia,  N. 
Y.,  publicly  revealed  what  he  called  the  secrets  of  Mason- 
ry. He  was  soon  missing,  and  was  believed  to  have  been 
kidnapped  and  murdered.  The  excitement  became  in- 
tense. Christians  and  churches  took  decided  action  against 
the  institution,  and  many  Free  Masons  left  the  order.  At 
the  Holland  Purchase  Yearly  Meeting  the  next  year,  the 
discussion  was  long  and  ardent,  and  those  who  belonged  to 
•the  lodge,  agreed  to  attend  no  more  meetings  unless  they 
were  "  summoned."  For  several  years  the  excitement 
and  opposition  continued,  till  scarcely  a  minister,  and  very 
few  of  the  laity,  were  found  in  the  order. 

In  closing  this  period  of  our  history,  the  mind  naturally 
returns  to  the  scenes  along  our  pathway,  and  asks  the 
secret  of  failure  or  success.  Local  causes  had  their  influ- 
ence everywhere,  and,  in  connection  with  general  ones. 
some  of  which  were  peculiar  to  the  policy  of  the  fathers, 
their  operation  was  various.  With  no  disposition  to  com- 
40 


,470  FIFTH    DECADE. 

plain  of  their  work,  but  rather  to  appreciate  their  embar- 
rassments and  rejoice  in  their  success,  we  may  look  at  the 
disadvantages  under  which  Freewill  Baptists  labored. 
And  they  are  seen, 

1.  In  a  depressing,  slanderous  influence,  prevalently 
exerted  against  them. 

2.  In  their  not  establishing  themselves  in  large  towns 
and  cities.  These  centres  of  influence  were  neglected, 
while  rural  districts  received  attention  ;  and  thus  was  re- 
versed the  primitive  order  of  things  ;  for  Neander  says, 
"  Christianity  was  diffused,  for  the  most  part,  from  the 
cities  into  the  country." 

3.  In  not  perfecting  th*eir  system  of  Itinerancy.  Each 
minister  travelled  wherever  his  own  convictions  of  duty 
directed,  and  thus  were  many  churches  undesignedly  left 
with  only  occasional  ministerial  labor. 

4.  In  not  calling  to  their  aid  the  power  of  the  Press. 
They  published  few  books  or  tracts,  and  had  no  weekly 
organ  for  forty-five  years. 

5.  In  not  interesting  themselves  in  Education.  The 
heart  was  cared  for,  but  the  mind  was  neglected,  both  in 
the  ministry  and  the  laity. 

6.  In  not  enforcing  the  Scripture  doctrine,  that  the 
'''  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire."  Says  Stephen  Parsons, 
Esq.,  of  Westport,  Me.,  a  son-in-law  of  Randall,  "  I  have 
had  an  eye  on  the  Freewill  Baptist  denomination  from  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  at  Squam  Island,  in  1785,  when  Johdl 
Whitney  was  ordained,  to  the  present  time  [1855],  and 
am  quite  certain  that  the  greatest  lack  has  been  the  want 
of  able  preachers  ;  and  this  has  been  caused  by  withhold- 
ing from  them  a  suitable  support,  and  the  encouragements 
of  education."  Because  of  this,  many  left,  and  entered 
the  ministry  of  other  denominations. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  great  secret  of  the  fathers'  suc- 
cess lay, 

1.  In  their  consecration  to  God,  and  their  reliance  on 
his  help. 


CONCLUSION.  471 

2.  In  their  having  "  a  mind  to  work" — a  spirit  of  Chris- 
tian enterprise. 

3.  In  the  nature  of  their  efforts.  They  were  simple, 
direct,  practical,  energetic  ;  and  in  the  ministry,  greatly 
self-sacrificing. 

4.  In  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  people  with  ultra  Cal- 
vinism, and  their  eagerness  to  hear  and  know  a  free  and 
fuU  salvation. 

The  early  Freewill  Baptists  were  but  men ;  they  could 
not  do  everything,  nor  could  they  at  once  perfect  every- 
thing they  attempted.  We  only  marvel  that,  under  the 
circumstances,  they  were  able  to  accomplish  so  much. 
Their  devout  spirit  insured  success,  and  such  a  spirit  will 
be  more  or  less  successful  wherever,  whenever,  and  by 
whomsoever  it  is  cherished. 


QUARTERLY  MEETINGS 


ORGANIZED    PRIOR  TO    1830. 


O 

o 

^  o 

Yearly  LIeetestg 

(^ 

^'Z 

Names. 

TO 

^ 

S  ? 

CO  o 

"Which  they  Belong. 

ft) 

ra  o 

CO     M, 

CIS 

Anson, 

Maine  Eastern  (Ken.X), 

1828 

23 

24 

Allegany  (^Freedom), 

Solland  Purchase  (Gen.'), 

1829 

4 

4 

fAthens, 

Dhio  E-iver, 

1823 

4 

*Benton  C  Yates,  §c.;, 

BColland  Purchase, 

1818 

11 

Bethany  (Genesee), 

SoUand  Purchase, 

1813 

3 

20 

Bowdoin 

Maine  Eastern  (Ken.), 

1825 

12 

21 

*Cookstown, 

Pennsylvania, 

1825 

3 

*Dover, 

Jn  Vermont), 

1828 

7 

6 

Edgecomb, 

Maine  Eastern  (Ken.), 

1795 

11 

11 

Enosburg, 

Vermont, 

1827 

9 

15 

Erie, 

Holland  Purchase, 

1818 

5 

18 

Exeter, 

Maine  Eastern  (Penob.) 

1824 

7 

23 

Farmington, 

Maine  Eastern  (Ken.), 

1795 

5 

24 

Gibson, 

Susquehannah, 

1822 

6 

9 

Gorham  (Cumberland'), 

Maine  "Western, 

1796 

8 

20 

Hard  wick  (Wheelock), 

Vermont, 

1802 

6 

17 

Huntington 

Vermont, 

1818 

4 

12 

Huron, 

Ohio  (OJiio  North.), 

1822 

3 

5 

Marion, 

Ohio  (Marion), 

1826 

4 

7 

Miami, 

Ohio, 

1824 

2 

MontvUle, 

Maine  Eastern  (Penob.), 

1810 

27 

New  Durham, 

New  Hampshire, 

1792 

4 

30 

*  Ontario, 

Holland  Purchase, 

1825 

8 

7 

Owego, 

Susquehannah, 

1820 

4 

8 

Parsonsfield, 

Maine  "Western, 

1798 

4 

26 

E.hode  Island, 

Pvhode  Island  &  Mass., 

1821 

3 

13 

Sandwich, 

New  Hampshire, 

1812 

10 

27 

Spafford, 

Susquehannah, 

1825 

2 

4 

Stanstead, 

Vermont, 

1828 

7 

8 

Strafford, 

Vermont, 

1802 

5 

14 

Strongville  (Medina), 

Ohio   {Ohio  North.), 

1827 

3 

*irnity. 

New  Hampshire, 

1799 

4 

"Wayne  (Ashtabula), 

Hoi.  Pur.  (Ohio  ^  Pa.), 

1825 

3 

7 

AVeare, 

New  Hampshire, 

1     1812 

6 

16 

*  Now  Extinct.  f  Been  Re-organized. 

X  These  abbreviations  in  Italics  indicate  the  Yearly  Meeting  to  which 
they  now  belong. 


MINISTERS 


ORDAINED    PRIOR   TO    1830. 


Names. 

Birth. 

o 

§ 

p 

Field  of  Labor. 

o 

Abbott  William, 

Livermore,  Me. 

1793 

J  829 

Me. 

Ainsworth  Ephraim, 

1802 

Vt. 

Albee  Isaac, 

Me. 

Alden  Simeon, 

1829 

Can.  East 

Aldrich  Adon, 

182- 

N.  T. 

Allen  Ebenezer, 

1828 

Me. 

Allen  Jonas, 

Royalston,  Mass., 

1778 

1824 

Vt.,  0. "! 

Allen  Reuben, 

Gilmanton,  N.  H. 

1795 

1818 

Vt.,  R.  I. 

Andrus  A.  C, 

Bankhamstead,  Ct. 

1802 

1825 

N.  Y.,  III. 

Anthony  Abram, 

182- 

Me. 

*Applebee  Samuel, 

1805 

Me.,  N.  H. 

Babcock  Wm.  S., 

1764 

1801 

Vt.,  N.  H. 

1821 

Bailey  John  M., 

Woolwich,  Me. 

1764 

1798 

Me. 

1867 

*BallarJ  Jeremiah, 

1798 

N.  H.,  Vt. 

Banghart  Andrew, 

1821 

Ca.  West 

Barnes , 

1819 

N.  Y. 

Bartlett  Flavel, 

Plymouth,  Mass. 

1792 

1827 

Me. 

Bartlett  Willard, 

N.  Brookfield,  Mass 

1783 

1815 

Vt.,  C.  E. 

1853 

Batchelder  Daniel, 

1799 

Vt. 

Bean  Benaiah 

SaUsbury,  N.  H. 

1703 

1828 

N.  H. 

1856 

Bean  David, 

1768 

1808 

N.  H. 

•  1843 

Bean  Moses, 

1810 

N.  H. 

Bell  Thomas, 

1811 

N.  H. 

Berry  Nathaniel, 

Strafford,  N.  H. 

1789 

1816 

N.  H. 

Bickford  Stephen, 

182- 

Me. 

Bignall  James, 

Pittstown,  N.  Y. 

1799 

1828 

N.  Y.,  Mich. 

Blaisdell  David,, 

1777 

1812 

Me.,  N.  H. 

1842 

Blaisdell  Edward, 

Lebanon,  Me. 

1784 

1827 

Me. 

1850 

Blaisdell  John, 

Lebanon,  Me. 

1757 

1799 

Me.,  N.  h: 

1823 

Blake  Dudley, 

1789 

1828 

Me. 

1833 

Blake  Israel, 

1765 

1800 

N.  H., 

18!39 

Blakely  Benoni, 

182- 

N.  Y. 

*Boody  Joseph, 

Barrington,  N.  H. 

1752 

1785 

N.  H.,  Vt. 

1824 

*Boody  Joseph,  Jr., 

New  Durham,  N.  H 

1773 

1799 

N.  H.,  Vt. 

Borden  John, 

182- 

Pa.,  N.  Y. 

BoBton  Shubael, 

1789 

1826 

Vt.,  Me. 

1841 

Bowles  Charles, 

Boston,  Mass. 

1761 

1817 

Vt.,  N.  Y. 

1843 

Bowles  Nathaniel, 

Richmond,  N.  H, 

1788 

1815 

Vt.,  N.  H. 

Boyd  David, 

So.  Berwick,  Me. 

1781 

Me. 

1855 

Bradford  E.  W., 

1827 

Me. 

1829 

Bradford  Samuel, 

1824 

N.  Y.,  0. 

Brady  Thomas, 

Ireland. 

1797 

1822 

N.  S. 

Braman  Jesse, 

182- 

N.  Y. 

Branch  Harry, 

0. 

1836 

*Bi-iggs  Jesse, 

181- 

Me. 

Bridges  Abiezer, 

1788 

1821 

Me. 

Brown  Allen, 

182- 

R.  I. 

1860 

Brown  Ebenezer, 

1805 

Me. 

1838 

*  Left  the  denomination. 

40* 


474 


Brown  Jonathan, 
Brown  Joab, 
*Brown  .'ames  E., 
Brown  Nathaniel, 
Bruce  Heman, 
Bughee  Abel, 
Burbank  Samuel, 
Burlinsrame  M.  W- 
BuUock  Christopher 
*Bullock  .Jer., 
Burnham  Asa, 
Burnham  Jesse, 
Burr  D.  C, 
Burton  'William, 
Buzzell  Aaron, 
Buzzell  H.  D., 
Buzzell  John, 
Buzzell  William, 
Canaan  John, 
Capron  J., 
Carey  Richard  M., 
Carlton  F.  C. 
Carter  J.  S. 
*Cass  Wra.  D., 
Caverly  John, 
Caverno  Arthur 
Chandler  Hubbard, 
Chappel  Daniel, 
Chase  Daniel, 
*Chase  Ebenezer 
Chase  Levi, 
Chatterton  Benj., 
Cheney  Martin, 
*Cheney  Moses, 
Cheney  Rufus, 
Clark  Frederick, 
Clark  Mahew, 
Clark  Peter, 
Clark  Sj'lvanus, 
Clay  Jonathan, 
CobbWm.  G., 
Colby  John, 
Colcord  Wilson, 
Cole  Samuel, 
*Colley  James, 
*CoUins  Elisha, 
Colver  S.  P., 
Cook  Gideon, 
Coon  Ross. 
Copp  Roger, 
*Cowing  David, 
Cox  Simon, 
Orapsey  Jacob, 
Craw  I-rael, 
Cross  David, 
Crowell  Thomas, 
CunninghamTim'y, 
Curtis  Silas, 
Dana  Simeon, 
Dana  William, 
Daniels  Amos, 
Darling  J.  W., 
Davidson  Wm.  M. 
Davis  James, 
Davis  Joseph, 
Dean  Zebulon, 
Delling  Manoah, 
Dennett  Samuel, 
*Dickey  Robert, 
Dike  Orange, 
Dodge  Asa, 


MINISTERS. 

Phipsburg,  Me. 

1772 

1818 
182- 

Me. 
Me. 

18M 

1822 

0. 

1830 

Strafford,  Vt. 

1765 

1802 
182- 

Vt.,  N.  Y. 
N.  Y. 

1841 

1777 

1818 

Vt. 

1861 

Brentwood,  N.  H. 

1792 

1816 

Me. 

1845 

Gloucester,  R.  I. 

1805 

1829 

R.  I.,  N.  H.,  Me. 

Scituate,  R.  I. 

1761 

1808 

N.  H.,  Me. 

1825 

R.I 

1811 

Me. 

Nottingham,  N.  H. 

1789 

1819 
1808 

1814 

N.  H.,  Me. 
Me. 
Me. 
N.  Y. 

1852 

Barrington,  N.  H. 

1764 

1798 

N.  H..  Vt. 

1854 

Alton,  N.  H. 

1777 

1803 

N.  H. 

1858 

Barrington,  N.  H. 

1766 

1792 

N.  H.,  Me. 

Middleton,  N.  H. 

1806 

N.  H.    . 

1841 

England. 

1789 

181- 

Eng.,  N.  H.,  0. 
Vt. 

184S 

Williamsburg,  Mass 

.  1794 

1820 
182- 
181- 
1820 

N.  Y.,  Wis. 
N.  Y.,  0. 
Vt. 

N.  H. 

Strafford,  N.  H. 

1789 

1827 

N.  H. 

Strafford,      " 

1801 

1823 

N.  H.,  Me. 

Wilton,  Me. 

1822 
180- 

•  Me. 
Vt. 

Stratham,  X.  H. 

1770 

180- 

N.  H.,  Pa.,  N.  Y. 

1850 

1785 

1810 
1828 

N.  H. 
R.  L 

Acworth,      " 

1778 

1828 

Vt. 

1855 

Dover,  Mass. 

1792 

1825 
1809 

R.L 

N.  H. 

1852 

Antrim,  N.  H. 

1780 

1810 
181- 

Vt.,N.Y.,0.,Wis. 

Vt. 

Wakefield,  N.  H. 

1788 

1818 

N.  H. 

1858 

Gihnantoa    " 

1781 

1810 
182- 

N.  H. 

Me. 

Buxton,  Me. 

1775 

1815 

Ue. 

1849 

Otisfield,  Me. 

1779 

1824 

Jle. 

1850 

Sandwich,  N.  H. 

1787 

1809 

Itinerant, 

1817 

New  Market,  N.  H. 

1775 

1824 

Me. 

1846 

Salem,  N.  II. 

1781 

1827 
1820 
1821 
181- 
1826 

N.  H. 
Me. 

N.  Y.,  0. 
N.  Y. 

Me. 

18.50 

R.  I. 

1804 

N.  H. 

Lebanon,  Me. 

1782 

1822 
1826 

Me. 
N.  H. 

1880 

1800 

182- 

Me. 

1851 

1767 

1823 
1810 
182- 
182- 

N.  Y. 
N.  Y. 
N.  H. 

N.  S. 

18.32 

1756 

1804 

Me., 

18.36 

Auburn,  Me. 

1804 

1827 

Me.,  N.  H.,  Mass. 

Lebanon,  N.  H. 

1776 

1802 

N.  H. 

1853 

Lebanon,  N.  H. 

1804 
182- 

N.  H. 
N.  Y. 

Burrilville,  R.  I. 

1800 

1824 
1822 
1828 

R.  I.,  N.  Y. 

Vt.,  Mass. 
Me. 

Madbury,  N.  H. 

1792 

1824 

N.  [-1. 

1843 

1813 

N.  Y. 

1831 

182- 

N.  Y. 

1829 

Vt. 

1814 

Vt.,  N.  H. 

1829 

Vt. 

182- 

N.  Y.,  Pa. 

MINISTERS. 


475 


Dodge  Edward  E., 
Dodge  William, 
Draper  Alanson, 
Dudley  David, 
Dudley  Moses, 
Dudley  John 
Dudley  Thomas, 
Dyer  Joseph, 
Dyer  Samuel  B., 

Basterbrooks , 

EUdns  Daniel, 
Elliott  Adam, 
Elliott  Ezekiel, 
Elliott  James, 
Elliott  Nathaniel, 

Ellis , 

Emerson  Wm., 
Emory  James, 
Emory  Richard, 
Emory  Simon, 
Ewer  Nathaniel, 
Fairfield  Smith, 
*Farewell  Josiah 
Farley  John, 
Farnham  John, 
Fay  Edward, 
Files  Allen, 
Fisk  David, 
Flanders  Thomas, 
Fly  James, ' 
*Folsom  Abraham, 
Folsom  Jeremiah, 
Folsom  Peter, 
*Foss  A.  T., 
Foss  Joseph, 
Foster  John, 
Fowler  B.  J. 
Fowler  Josiah, 
Frost  Winthrop, 
Gardner  L.  G., 
Getchell  Wm., 
Gibson  Stephen, 
Gilbert  Truman, 
Gilman  Samuel, 
Gilmore  Otis, 
Gilmore  Russell, 
Gleason  T.  K., 
Glidden  Abel, 
*GoodwinHumphrsy, 
Goodwin  Joseph, 
*Gould  John, 
Gowin  Joseph, 
Grant  Ephraim, 
Graves  Josiah, 
Gray  Reuben, 
Gray  William, 
Green  Daniel, 
*Green  J.  J., 
Grinold  Thomas, 
Hackett  George, 
Hall  Perley, 
Hamblin  Ebenezer, 
Hannibal  Eli, 
Harriman  David, 
Harris  James, 
Hart  Burnett, 
Harvey  Erastus, 
Harvey  Nathaniel, 
Haselton  Samuel, 
Hatch  Aaron, 


N.  H. 
Newbury,  N.  H. 
Dover,  N.  Y. 
Montvernon,  Me. 
Me. 


Boston,  Mass. 

New  Market,  N.  H.     1779 


Boothbay,  Me. 
Gorham,  Me. 


R.  I. 

N.H. 

Plainfield,  Mass. 
Gorham,  Me. 
Tewksbury,  Mass. 
Alton,  N.  H. 

Gilmanton,  N.  H. 


Lee,  N.  H. 
Tewksbury,  Mass. 
Mehegan,  Ct., 
Thetford,  Vt. 

Worthington,  Mass. 
Vassalboro',  Me. 

New  Marlbbro',  Ms. 
Gilmanton,  N.  H. 


/Uton,  N.  H. 


Middleton,  Ct. 


Plaistow,  N.  H. 
Ct. 

East  Haddam,  Ct. 

Windham,  N.  H. 
Me. 


1794 

1821 

1781 

1809 

1789 

1826 

1791 

1817 

1778 

1809 

182- 

1783 

181- 

1774 

1810 

1779 

1804 

182- 

1760 

1804 

1804 

180S 

1810 

1777 

1810 

1795 

1823 

182- 

182- 

1825 

1827 

1817 

1777 

1826 

1783 

]826 

1791 

1819 

1772 

1810 

1825 

1822 

1816 

1781 

1812 

1827 

1765 

1781 

1813 

1775 

1819 

1794 

1818 

182- 

1798 

1825 

1793 

1826 

1807 

1779 

1819 

1784 

1815 

182- 

182- 

1814 

1774 

1810 

1807 

1812 

1817 

182- 

1805 

1775 

1811 

1825 

1829 

1821 

181- 

1826 

1781 

1816 

1823 

180- 

1824 

1788 

1817 

1784 

1822 

1821 

1789 

1825 

1819 

1781 

1819 

1816 

Pa.,  N.  Y. 

1837 

N.  H. 

1859 

N.  Y. 

0. 

Me.,  0. 

1842 

0. 

Me. 

1860 

Me. 

1859 

N.  H. 

1846 

N.  Y.,  Pa. 

N.  H. 

1845 

Me. 

1813 

Me. 

Me. 

181- 

Me. 

181- 

N.  Y. 

1828 

Me. 

1850 

Me.,  N.  H. 

1844 

Me. 

Me. 

Vt.,  C.  E. 

R.  I.,  Me.,  N.  H. 

Me. 

N.  Y. 

1858 

Me. 

Vt. 

1860 

Me. 

N.  H. 

1834 

N.  H.,  Me.  ■ 

1839 

Me. 

N.  Y. 

N.  Y. 

1823 

Vt. 

1832 

N.  H.,  Me. 

Me. 

1852 

Me. 

N.  Y.,  Wis. 

1848 

N.  Y.,  Pa. 

Me. 

N.  Y. 

1861 

Me. 

Mass.,  N.  H. 

N.  Y.,  C.  W. 

1850 

Vt.,N.  Y. 

0. 

0. 

N.  Y. 

N.  H. 

1837 

Me. 

Me. 

1850 

N.  Y.,  Pa. 

Me. 

Me. 

Ct. 

1825 

Me. 

N.  Y. 

R.I. 

0. 

N.  Y.,  Wis. 

Vt. 

1846 

Vt. 

Me. 

N.  Y. 

N.  H. 

1844 

C.  W. 

1858 

N.  Y. 

Vt. 

Me. 

N.  H.,  Me.,  Vt. 

Me.,  0. 

476 

MINISTERS. 

Hathaway  Leonard, 

Middleboro',  Mass. 

1802 

1826 

Me. 

Hathorn  Samuel, 

Dresden,  Me. 

1794 

1826 

Me.,  Ind.,  0. 

1858 

Hazeltine  Simeon, 

1829 

Vt. 

Hedge  Barnabas, 

1821 

Me. 

Hibbard  Daniel, 

1757 

Me. 

1827 

Hicks  Peleg, 

179- 

Vt. 

Higgins  Joseph, 

Easthara,  Mass. 

1776 

1811 

Me. 

Higgins  Yates, 

1829 

Me.,  N.  B. 

Hill  John, 

1791 

1822 

N.  H. 

1837 

Billiard  John, 

1785 

1826 

Vt. 

1830 

Hinkley  J.  N., 

1806 

N.  Y.,  0.,  Mich. 

1855 

Hobbs  Henry, 

1765 

1801 

Me. 

1848 

Hobson  Andrew, 

Buxton,  Me. 

1795 

1825 

Me. 

Holbrook  Paul, 

1805 

Vt. 

1824 

Howe  Solomon, 

Hillsboro',  N.  H. 

1786 

1819 

Vt.,  N.  H. 

1859 

Huntley  Calvin, 

Marlow,  N.  H. 

1780 

1821 

Vt. 

1856 

Huntley  Leland, 

1820 

Vt. 

Hutchins  Eiias, 

New  Portland,  Me. 

1801 

1824 

Me.,  N.  H.,  0. 

1859 

*Hutchins  Samuel, 

New  Portland,  Me. 

1790 

1810 

Me. 

Huckins  Thomas, 

Lee,  N.  H. 

1795 

1828 

C.  W.,  Mich. 

1853 

*Hutchinson  Daniel, 

Windham,  Me. 

1780 

1802 

Me. 

1854 

Hutchinson  Josiph, 

Danvers,  Mass. 

1759 

1798 

Me. 

1801 

Hutchinson     "     Jr., 

Windham,  Me. 

1780 

1825 

Me. 

1840 

*Hutchinson  Sam'l, 

Windham,  Me. 

1781 

1806 

Me. 

1828 

Ingalls  Caleb, 

1766 

1806 

N.  H.,  Vt. 

]851 

Jackson  James, 

1799 

N.  H. 

1815 

Jackson  Daniel, 

Madison,  N.  H. 

1804 

1826 

N.  H.,  Me.,  Ind. 

Jackson  'i'hgmas  M., 

Madison,  N.  H. 

1801 

1824 

N.  H.,  Vt. 

1828 

Jenkins  Herman, 

Pvoxbury,  Mass., 

1785 

1814 

N.  Y.,  C.W.,  Wis. 

1855 

Johnson  Eplivaim, 

Jefferson,  Me. 

1786 

1822 

Me. 

1844 

Johnson  Timothy, 

Mar.  Vine.,  Mass. 

1774 

1811 

Me. 

1849 

*Jones  Abner, 

Royalston,  Mass. 

1772 

1802 

N.  I-L,  Mass. 

1841 

Jones  Allen, 

1824 

N.  Y. 

Jordan  Zachariah, 

Raymond,  Me. 

1787 

1818 

Me. 

*Kenney  Jonathan, 

181- 

N.  H. 

Kent  David, 

1823 

N.  H. 

Ketchum  Nathaniel, 

1813 

N.  Y. 

Kilburn  Alanson, 

Litchfield,  Ct. 

1786 

1826 

Vt.,  C.  E. 

1856 

Kilborn  Marcus, 

Ct. 

1820 

0.,  Ind. 

1837 

Kimball  John, 

Weare,  N.  H. 

1801 

1829 

N.  H. 

1860 

King  Nathaniel, 

Plampstead,  N.  H. 

1767 

1802 

Vt. 

1852 

Knowles  John  D., 

Sandwich,  N.  H. 

1776 

1811 

N.  H. 

1840 

Knowles  William, 

*182- 

Me. 

Knowlton  Ebenezer, 

Pittsfield,  N.  H. 

1782 

1805 

N.  H.,  Me. 

1841 

Knowlton  David, 

Seabrook, N.  H. 

1741 

1795 

N.  H. 

181.'i 

Knowlton,  David,  Jr., 

Pittsfield,  N.  H. 

1780 

1803 

N.  H. 

1807 

Lamb  George, 

LincolnviUe,  Me. 

1788 

1813 

Me. 

1836 

Lamb  John, 

Lincolnville,  Me. 

1776 

1808 

Me. 

1828 

Lathrop  S., 

182- 

Vt. 

*Leach  Henry, 

182- 

Me. 

Leach  Zachariah, 

Cape  Elizabeth,  Me. 

1765 

1794 

Me. 

1842 

Leonard  Abner, 

182- 

N.  H.,  Mass.,  Vt. 

1832 

Leavitt  Benjamin, 

182- 

N.  Y.,  Ind. 

Leavitt  Stephen, 

New  Hampton,  N.H 

.1794 

1827 

Vt.,  N.  H. 

*Lennan  John, 

1821 

Me. 

Lewis  Lincoln, 

Waterville,  Me. 

1799 

1822 

Me.,  N.H. 

1858 

Lewis  Thomas, 

1810 

Me.,  N.  Y. 

1824 

Libby  Asa, 

Me. 

*Libby  Eiias, 

Scarboro',  Me. 

1822 

Me. 

Libby  James, 

1828 

Me. 

Libby  Thomas, 

1828 

Me. 

*Lock  Edward, 

Rye,  N.  H. 

1742 

1780 

N.  H.,  Me. 

1824 

Lock  Ward, 

Gilmanton,  N.  H. 

1784 

1813 

Me. 

1828 

Lord  Daniel, 

Berwick,  Me. 

1748 

1793 

Me.,  N.  H.,  N.  Y. 

1825 

Lord  Gershom, 

1799 

Me. 

Lord  Samuel, 

Barnstead,  N.  H. 

1780 

1820 

Vt. 

1849 

*Loring  H.  N., 

1825 

K.I. 

Lowe  D.  P., 

Winchester,  Va. 

1796 

1829 

Pa.,  Ind.,  Wis. 

Lyon  Daniel, 

1795 

1824 

N.  Y. 

1842 

Magoon  Josiah, 

1759 

1802 

N.  H. 

1841 

MINISTERS. 


477 


Marks  David, 
Manson,  Beoj.S., 
^Marshall  Nath'l, 
Martin  Richard, 
Marvel  J.  W., 
Maynard  Benajali, 
Maxfield  Eliphalet, 
McCall  James, 
McCorson  James, 
McCutcheon  James, 
*McFarIand  Moses, 
McGray  Asa, 
McKinney  Thomas, 
McKoon,  Benjamin, 
Mead  Allen, 
Meader  Henry, 
Merrill  Asa, 
*Merrill  Levi  "W., 
*Merrill  Nathan, 
*MiIesB.  H., 
Miller  A.  H., 
Miner  J.  H., 
Morgan  James, 
Morse  Hojace, 
Morse  Timothy, 
Montague  Samuel, 
Moody  David, 
Moulton  Abial, 
Moulton  Avery, 
Moxley  Thomas, 
Mugg  John, 
Muxley  Nathan, 
Nelson  Jonathan, 
Newbold  Joshua. 
Norris  David, 
Norris  Moses, 
Norton  John, 
Norton  Lemuel, 
*Orcutt  John, 
Osborn  John, 
Osgood  Joseph, 
Otis  Micajah, 
Page  Benjamin, 
Page  Christopher, 
Page  John, 
Paine  William, 
Palmer  Jonathan, 
Parcher  George, 
Parlcer  Thomas, 
Park  Thomas, 
*Parmenter  Jonas, 
Perljins  Paul, 
Perkins  Thomas, 
Perry  Amos, 
Perry  Jacob, 
*Perry  L.  C. 
Perry  Nathaniel, 
*Peters  James, 
Pettengill  Dudley, 
Philbrick  Peter, 
Phinney  Clement, 
Pinkham  Daniel, 
Place  Enoch, 
Place  Stephen, 
Plover  S.  P., 
Pope  Ziba, 
Porter  Isaac, 
•*Potter  Ray, 
*Pottle  Simeon, 
Powers  George  W., 


Sliendaken,  N.  Y.       1805 
Limington,  Me.  1802 


Lee,  N.  H. 


1755 
1796 


Pembroke,  N.  H. 

N.  Yarmouth,  Me.  1780 
Georgetown,  Me.  1763 
Herkimer  Co.,  N.  Y.  1799 
Saratoga,  N.  Y.  1793 


Stratham,  N.  H. 


1783 


Columbia,  N.  Y.         1795 

New  Canaan,  N.  Y.    1795 

1780 


Newbury,  Mass. 

Gilmanton,  N.  H. 

Amesbury,  Mass. 
Stonington,  Ct. 


Barnstead,  N.  H. 
Faj'ette  Co.,  Pa. 


Saco,  Me. 


Haverhill,  Mass. 


Sandwich,  N.  H. 

Gorham,  Me. 
Madbui-y,  N.  H. 
Rochester,  N.  H. 
B.I. 


Stratham,  N.  H. 


1765 
1804 


1770 
1769 


1777 
1802 
1768 


1792 
Martha's  Vineyard.    1785 


Wentworth,  N.  H.      1787 
Woolwich,  Me.  1760 


1790 
1783 


1787 

1780 
1779 
1786 
1740 

1777 


1826 
1825 
1804 
1795 

181 

1802 

1828 

1787 

1828 

1809 

1814 

1804 

1823 

1822 

1820 

1827 

1829 

1787 

1817 

1820 

1829 

1821 

1826 

1804 

182. 

1826 

1828 

1806 

1816 

182- 

1827 

1819 

1826 

1809 

181- 

1820 

18l7 

1818 

180-' 

1818 

1799 

1803 

1829 

1811 

1808 

1815 

1808 

1828 

1823 

1814 

1827 

1816 

1825 

1824 

1829 

1826 

182- 

181- 

1817 

1816 

1813 
1801 
182- 
1822 
182- 
1819 
1799 
1820 


Itinerated. 

1845 

Me.,  N.  H. 

N.  H.,  Me.,  Vt. 

1811 

N.  H. 

1824 

N.  Y.,  III. 

1856 

Vt. 

1831 

Vt. 

Pa. 

1836 

Me. 

1820 

N.  H. 

Me. 

Me.,  N.  S. 

1843 

Me. 

1846 

N.  Y.,  Mich. 

0.,  Ind. 

1849 

Me.,  Ind. 

N.  H. 

18,60 

Me. 

Me. 

0. 

1832 

N.  Y.,  0.,  111. 

N.Y.,  0.,  Ind. 

Vt. 

1861 

0. 

N.  H.,  B.  I.,Vt. 

1832 

Mass.,  Vt. 

N.  H. 

C.  E. 

C.  E. 

1828 

Vt. 

1846 

0. 

vt. 

vt. 

1843 

Pa.,  Ind. 

Vt. 

1889 

Vt. 

N.  Y.,  Mich, 

1832 

Me. 

Vt. 

Me. 

N.  I-I. 

1821 

Vt. 

N.  H.,  C.  E. 

N.  H.,  Me. 

1834 

Me. 

1846 

Me. 

Me. 

1834 

N.  Y. 

Me. 

N.  Y. 

N.  H. 

1843 

N.  H. 

J 

N.  Y. 

N.Y. 

N.  H. 

Vt. 

0.,  Pa. 

N.  H. 

1850 

N.3. 

Me. 

1865 

N.  H. 

1855 

N.  H. 

R.  I.,  Vt. 

N.Y. 

Vt.,  N.  H.,  N.  B. 

1852 

Me. 

R.  L 

N.  H. 

N.  H. 

478 

MINISTERS 

Pownal  G.  W., 

1820 

Vt. 

Pi-att  Benaiah, 

Dartmouth,  Mass. 

1773 

1807 

Me. 

1846 

Purkis  John, 

England. 

1793 

1829 

Eng.,  Me. 

1838 

Purrington  H., 

Bath,  Me. 

1758 

1807 

Me. 

1832 

Purrington  Nath'l, 

Bowdoin,  Me. 

1787 

1818 

Me. 

*Putnam  Benjamin, 

1809 

Vt. 

Quimby  Daniel, 

Weare,  N.  H. 

1773 

1816 

Vt. 

1850 

Quinby  Joshua, 

Kingston,  N.  H. 

1766 

1800 

N.  H. 

1844 

Quinby  .loseph. 

1761 

1798 

N.  H. 

1825 

Ralph  Edward, 

1804 

Vt. 

Randall  Benjamin, 

New  Castle,  N.  H. 

1749 

1780 

N.  H.,  Me.,  Vt. 

1808 

*Rathburn  Elisha, 

1817 

0. 

Reed  Ahab, 

1825 

R.  I. 

Remington  Cha's, 

182- 

Ct. 

Reynolds  Edward, 

1825 

N.  S. 

*Robbins  Samuel, 

182- 

Me.,  Mass. 

Robinson  Joseph, 

1818 

Me. 

Robinson  Sylvanus, 

Vt. 

1796 

1822 

Vt.,  N.  Y. 

1834 

Robinson  W.  E., 

Greenfield,  Pa. 

1786 

1826 

Pa.,  N.  Y. 

1852 

Rockwell  James, 

1829 

C.E. 

Rogers  Smith, 

Bennington,  Vt. 

1791 

1826 

N.  Y. 

Rollins  Andrew, 

Topsham,  Me. 

1799 

1828 

Me. 

1859 

Rollins  D.  M.  L., 

■  1829 

Me.,  0.,  N.  Y. 

*Rollins  M.  H., 

1805 

N.  H.,  Me. 

Rolph  Benjamin, 

1822 

N.  Y. 

Rowe  lonathan, 

"Warner,  N.  H. 

1784 

1821 

N.  H. 

1832 

Russell  B.  A., 

New  Rochelle,  N.  Y 

1801 

1828 

N.  Y.,  Pa. 

Russell  Silas, 

182- 

Me. 

Saunders  William, 

Rye,  N.  H. 

1763 

1822 

N.  H. 

1834 

Savage  Edward, 

Woolwich,  Me. 

1766 

1801 

Me. 

1856 

Sawtelle  Hezekiah, 

1803 

Me. 

*Sawyer  James, 

1822 

Me. 

Scales  Ebenezer, 

Nottingham,  N.  H. 

1766 

1804 

Me. 

1855 

*Sebastian  Alex., 

1823 

Ind. 

Shaw  Sargent, 

1828 

Me. 

Shear  Abram, 

1826 

N.  Y. 

Shepherd  Josiah, 

Gilmanton,  N.  H. 

1782 

1808 

N.  H. 

1814 

Sherman  T.  S., 

Essex,  N.  Y. 

N.  Y. 

1839 

Shurtliff  J.  M., 

Ashfield,  Mass. 

1794 

1817 

Pa.,  O.j  Min. 

Sleeper  John, 

182- 

0. 

*Sleeper  Nehemiah, 

1817 

N.  H. 

Smith  Dexter, 

1821 

Vt. 

Smith  Robinson, 

1802 

Vt. 

Smith  Sylvester, 

Del. 

1776 

Pa. 

1846 

Spaulding  Joel, 

Chelmsford,  Mass. 

1796 

1829 

Me.,  0. 

-^Spencer  James, 

1803 

N.  H.,  Vt. 

Stearns  Asa, 

1781 

180- 

0. 

1851 

Stedman  Eli, 

Tunbridge,  Vt 

1778 

1802 

Vt.,  0. 

1845 

Steere  Cyrus, 

Gloucester,  R.  I. 

1801 

1829 

R.  I.,  Pa.,  N.  Y. 

Stevens  Ephraim, 

1808 

Me.,  0. 

Stevens  J  ohn. 

Berwick,  Me. 

1802 

1823 

Me. 

Stid.lohn, 

1762 

1827 

N.  Y.,  Pa. 

1844 

Stilson  Cyrus, 

Sidney,  Me. 

1801 

1828 

Me.,  N.  B. 

Stinchfield  Ephraim, 

New  Gloucester,  Me 

1761 

1798 

Me. 

1838 

Stone  John, 

1805 

N.  H. 

Straight  F.  W., 

1828 

N.  Y.,  C.  W.,  Me., 

Sturgis  Nathaniel, 

Gorham,  Me. 

1774 

1821 

Me. 

1825 

Swett  David, 

Gorham,  Me. 

1792 

1822 

Me.,  N  H.,  Vt. 

*Swett  John, 

1790 

181- 

N.  H. 

1831 

Swain  William, 

Brentwood,  N.  H. 

1827 

N.  H. 

Tanner  F.  B., 

R.I. 

1793 

1823 

N.  Y.,  Wis. 

Tash  Robert, 

1827 

N.  H.,  Me. 

Tasker  Ebenezer, 

1776 

1822 

Me. 

1831 

Thomas  Porter, 

1824 

Vt. 

Thompson  Thomas, 

182- 

Me. 

Thorn  Benjamin, 

New  Gloucester,  Me 

1779 

1809 

Me. 

Thornton  Abel, 

Johnston,  R.  I. 

1799 

1825 

R.  I.,  N.Y.,  Pa. 

1827 

*Thurston  Nathaniel, 

Freedom,  N.  H. 

1806 

1828 

Me.,  N.  H.,  Mass. 

Tingley  Pelatiah, 

Attleboro',  Mass. 

1735 

1772 

Me.,  N.  H. 

1821 

*Tobey  Zalmon, 

Ct. 

1792 

182- 

R.I. 

1858 

MINISTERS. 


479 


Tollman  Benjamin, 
Towne  Eli, 
Townsend  Isaac, 
Tracy  Christopher, 
*Tracy  Jonathan, 
Trefethren,  John, 
Tripp  Isaac, 
True  John, 
Tufts  Benjamin, 
Tufts  Francis, 
Turner,  Francis, 
Tuttle  James, 
Walker  John, 
Wallis  Moses, 
Ward  Jeremiah, 
Warren  Charles, 
Waterman  Dexter, 
*Watson  Abijah, 
Watson,  Elijah, 
Way  Russell, 
Webber  David, 
Webster  Nathaniel, 
Webster  Samuel, 
Weeks  Samuel, 
Wentworth  J.  J. 
Wetherbee  Josiah, 
Wheeler  J., 
*Whittaker  Jesse, 
Whitcomb  Samuel, 
White  Joseph, 
Whitman  William, 
Whitney  John, 
Whitney  Reuben, 
Whitney  Samuel, 
Whitten  S.  F., 
Wight  Philip, 
*Wilbur,  Thomas, 
Williams  Daniel, 
Williams  James, 
Williams  Samuel, 
Williamson  Stephen, 
Wilson  Nathaniel, 
Winch  Joseph, 
Winship  Nathaniel, 
Wire  Samuel, 
Witham  Wm.  C, 
Woodman  Jonathan, 
Woodsom  William, 
Woodworth  Ziba, 
Wormwood  Samuel, 
Wyatt  S.  D., 
*Yearnshaw  J.  M., 
York  John, 
*Young  Daniel, 
Young  Winthrop, 


Troy,  N.  H. 

Md. 
New  Market,  N.  H. 


Damariscotta,  Me. 
Medford,  Mass. 


Durham,  Me. 
Litcheeld,  Me. 

Nottingham,  N.  H. 


Lisbon,  N.  H 
Standish,  Me. 


Dublin,  N.  H. 
Gloucester,  R.  I. 


Mass. 

Ct. 
Caps  Ann,  Mass. 
AVheelock,  Vt. 
Saco,  Me. 


N.  Y. 
England. 
Middleton,  N  H. 

Barrington,  N.  H. 


1782 
1756 


1777 
1744 


1777 
1780 


Greenland,  N.  H.   1746 


Ringe,  N.  H. 
Rehoboth,  Mass. 


1791 
1787 


1788 
1789 


1777 
1793 


1790 
1798 


1800 

1786 
1793 
1798 
1792 


1796 
1783 
1753 


1810 

1822 

1792 

1808 

1828 

1804 

182 

182- 

1822 

1795 

182 

181- 

1827 

1815 

182 

1828 

1803 

1803 

1815 

182- 

1801 

181 

1780 

1829 

1821 

1825 

1829 

1820 

1815 

182- 

1785 

182 

1801 

1821 

1826 

1800 

1822 

1818 

1805 

1825 

1805 

1821 
1819 
1829 
1818 
1823 
1803 
182- 
1827 
1829 
1811 
1808 
1796 


Mass.,  N.  H. 

R.I. 

N.  H. 

Me. 

Me. 

Me. 

Me. 

Me. 

Me.,  0. 

Me.,  0. 

N.  Y. 

Me. 

N.  H. 

Vt. 

N.  H. 

Me. 

Me.,  N.  H.,  Vt. 

N.  H. 

N.  H. 

N.  Y. 

Me. 

Me.,  N.  H. 

Vt. 

N.  H.,  Me. 

N.  II. 

Vt.,  N.  H.,  N.  Y. 

O. 

N.  H. 

N.  Y.,  Mich. 

Me.,  E.  I. 

0. 

Me. 

Me. 

Me. 

Me. 

N.  H.,  Me.,N.  Y. 

Me. 

R.  I.,  Ct. 

Pa. 

Me.,  Pa. 

Me. 

N.  H. 

Ind. 

Me. 

N.  Y.,  Pa.,  0. 

Me. 

Vt.,  N.  H.,  Mass. 

Me. 

Vt. 

Ife. 

0. 

R.  I. 

Me. 

Me. 

N.  H. 


1823 
1846 


1849 
1833 


1857 
1848 

1827 
1826 
1832 


1837 
1859 

1853 
1851 

1854 


1827 
1842 


'AMV\^ 


